Nonlinear aeroelastic coupled trim and stability analysis of rotor-fuselage

Based on the Hamilton principle and the moderate deflection beam theory, discretizing the helicopter blade into a number of beam elements with 15 degrees of freedom, and using a quasi-steady aero-model, a nonlinear coupled rotor/fuselage equation is established. A periodic solution of blades and fuselage is obtained through aeroelastic coupled trim using the temporal finite element method (TEM). The Peters dynamic inflow model is used for vehicle stability. A program for computation is developed, which produces the blade responses, hub loads, and rotor pitch controls. The correlation between the analytical results and related literature is good. The converged solution simultaneously satisfies the blade and the vehicle equilibrium equations.