Fundamental Investigation of Proprotor and Wing Interactions in Tiltrotor AIrcraft

Abstract

Rotor/wing interactions in tiltrotor aircraft are complex in nature. Using an XV-15 rotor on a full-span wing with a symmetric NACA 0023 airfoil section, the mechanisms of rotor/wing interactions are investigated for a tiltrotor aircraft cruising at 220 knots. Numerical computations are performed using HPCMP CREATE™-AV Helios code. Due to the rotor/wing interference, rotor and wing loadings display a 3-per-rev harmonic response. The mean rotor thrust and power are influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the rotor thrust increases 12.7% and the rotor power increases 8.1%, most of which is due to wing thickness interference. The mean wing lift and drag are also influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the wing lift increases 0.7% and the wing drag reduces 21.9%. These interference effects are confined to the high speed tiltrotor airplane mode.