Preliminary Design of an Advanced Composite Rotor Hub for the Uh-60A Black Hawk

Sikorsky Aircraft, under contract to the Applied Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Army Research and Technology Laboratories, conducted a program to develop a preliminary design of a composite main rotor hub for the UH-60A BLACK HAWK helicopter. The program is significant in that it reflects the application of composite rotor hub technology, developed in previous research and development programs, to the Army’s primary utility aircraft of the future. The program includes a trade-off of candidate hub concepts varying in design, configuration, and materials against specific design goals and objectives. The prime areas for consideration include cost, weight, ballistic survivability, reliability, and maintainability. From the trade-off analysis, one concept was selected for more in-depth design and analyses.