Performance of Quiet Helicopter

Noise generated by helicopters is one of the main problems associated with the operation of rotorcrafts. Requirements for reduction of helicopter noise were reflected in the regulations introducing lower limits of acceptable rotorcraft noise. A significant source of noise generated by helicopters are the main rotor and tail rotor blades. Radical noise reduction can be obtained by slowing down the blade tips speed of main and tail rotors. Reducing the rotational speed of the blades may decrease rotor thrust and diminish helicopter performance. The problem can be solved by attaching more blades to main rotor. The paper presents results of calculation regarding improvement of the helicopter performance which can be achieved for reduced rotor speed but with increased number of rotor blades. The calculations were performed for data of hypothetical light helicopter. Results of simulation include rotor loads and blade deformations in chosen flight conditions. Equations of motion of flexible rotor blades were solved using the Galerkin method which takes into account selected eigen modes of the blades. The simulation analyzes can help to determine the performance and loads of a quiet helicopter with reduced rotor speed within the operational envelope of helicopter flight states.