Experimental investigation of combined infra-red suppression and tail rotor elimination helicopter anti-torque system
Date
2016-08-17
Authors
Bouwer, Pieter
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Abstract
An experimental investigation was carried out on a half scale model of a
helicopter COmbined Infra-Red Suppression and Tail rotor Elimination
(CIRSTEL) system to characterise its performance in terms of power
consumption, thrust, pressure drops and temperature reduction. The model
consists of a Circulation Control Tail Boom and Thruster (CCTB&T) with the
hot engine gasses ducted into the tail boom where they are mixed with
ambiant air supplied by a fan situated in the body of the helicopter. The
CCTB&T replaces the conventional tail rotor on a helicopter and supplies the
torque to counter-act the torque applied to the main rotor. The model was
tested using both hot and cold air to simulate the flow of hot engine gasses.
The performance is defined in terms of thrust, power, and mass flow
coefffcients which were found to be constant for the configuration tested. It
was shown that the power requirements of the fan are significantly reduced
by introducing the hot engine gasses into the tail Boom. The temperature of
the hot engine gasses is also reduced from 450°C to approximately 200°C
The surface temperature of the model was found to be less than 55'C of the
configuration.
Description
BRANCH OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND