Thin body shape optimization technique using wind tunnel test data

The K-MAX helicopter manufactured by Kaman uses a servo-flap system to control the rotor blade angle of attack. The benefits of using this type of control is to eliminate the hydraulic system and it provides better control sensitivity. In order to enhance the rotor blade performance wind tunnel tests were performed to minimize the drag of the servo-flap brackets by testing several different servoflap bracket shapes at different yaw angles and airspeeds. The top edge of the servo-flap bracket was defined by two design variables. Second order polynomial functions, approximate function, were generated, dependent on the design variables, to approximate the aerodynamic drag of a range of possible servo-flap bracket shapes. The accuracy of the polynomial functions was evaluated by comparison with wind tunnel test data. The results indicate, the trend to minimize drag and that care must be taken to minimize the error of the approximate functions. Introduction A sufficient amount of work has been performed in the area of finite element based shape and structural *Assistant Professor, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain CT Senior Member AIAA, Adjunct Professor, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT Copyright