Research of Unsteady Aerodynamic Characteristics of Electrically Controlled Rotor Airfoils with Trailing-Edge Flaps

An electrically controlled rotor (ECR), also known as a swashplateless rotor, eliminates the swashplate system to implement the primary control via the trailing-edge flaps (TEFs), which can result in enhancements in rotor performance, as well as substantial reductions in weight, drag, and cost. In this paper, the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil with TEF of a sample ECR under unsteady freestream condition are investigated. The CFD results are obtained with sliding and overset grid techniques that simulate the airfoil pitching and flap deflection. Comparative analysis of the aerodynamic characteristics under steady and unsteady freestream conditions at different advance ratios is conducted. At various advance ratios, the lift and drag coefficients are higher at a small angle of attack under unsteady freestream condition; however, it is the opposite at a large angle of attack. The peak values of the lift and drag coefficients show an increased trend with the increase in the advance ratio. On the contrary, the pitch moment and flap hinge moment coefficients demonstrate minor variation under unsteady freestream condition. Furthermore, the aerodynamic characteristics of airfoils become more unsteady with variation in the freestream. Therefore, the lift and drag coefficients of the ECR airfoil with TEF show significant differences between steady and unsteady freestream conditions; however, the pitch moment and the flap hinge moment coefficients show little difference.