Overview of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Subsonic Rotary Wing Aeronautics Research Program in Rotorcraft Crashworthiness

This paper provides an overview of rotorcraft crashworthiness research being conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley Research Center under sponsorship of the Subsonic Rotary Wing aeronautics program. The research is focused in two areas: development of an externally deployable energy attenuating concept and improved prediction of rotorcraft crashworthiness. The deployable energy absorber (DEA) is a composite honeycomb structure, with a unique flexible hinge design that allows the honeycomb to be packaged and remain flat until needed for deployment. The capabilities of the DEA have been demonstrated through component crush tests and vertical drop tests of a retrofitted fuselage section onto different surfaces or terrain. The research on improved prediction of rotorcraft crashworthiness is focused in several areas including simulating occupant responses and injury risk assessment, predicting multiterrain impact, and utilizing probabilistic analysis methods. A final task is to perform a system-integrated simulation of a full-scale helicopter crash test onto a rigid surface. A brief description of each research task is provided along with a summary of recent accomplishments.