Robust Aerodynamic Optimization Strategies for Rotor Blade Morphing Airfoils

An aerodynamic optimization method is developed to designe robust shapes for morphing airfoils for helicopter blades. The morphing strategy consists of a conformable camber airfoil which changes over the period of rotation of the blade to cope with the variable ow conditions encountered in forward ight. A robust or uncertainty-based approach is used to compute a reliable morphing airfoil, providing a low variance with respect to uncertainty aecting the operating conditions. In order to assess the eectiveness of the robust method, several optimization problems are performed, from a classical two-point drag minimization with lift coecient constraint to a robust morphing camber optimization. The results of the optimization problems are compared and discussed to highlight the features of the robust approach.