Experimental Investigation and Numerical Study of a Helicopter Rotor Model

An isolated helicopter rotor model was tested at Agusta wind tunnels. The model consists of a fully articulated hub with four rectangular blades. The tests provide a survey of flowfield and wake structure at different thrust and RPM. A description of experimental investigations and a summary of the computational method used in the numerical simulation are provided with a comparison between experimental and numerical results. The present study can further contribute to the knowledge in rotor wake dynamics and in its simulation.