DESCENT MODELING IN ROTORCRAFT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

DESCENT is the U. S. Army Research Laboratory's incumbent tool for modeling autorotation in the survivability/vulnerability analysis complex. It optimizes the flight path of a rotorcraft after power loss to the main rotor and estimates resultant damage to the vehicle from ground impact. In recent years ARL has endeavored to expand both the capabilities and the sphere of applicability of DESCENT. This paper reviews several new features of the code, its extension to consideration of occupant injury analysis, the challenge of addressing non-optimal "real world" response, and the progress of a verification and validation effort.