Configuration Design and Optimisation Study of A Compound Gyroplane

Conguration design and optimisation study
of a compound gyroplane
Ngoc Anh Vu, Young-Jae Lee, Jae-Woo Lee and Sangho Kim
Aerospace Information Engineering Department, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea, and
In Jae Chung
Agency for Defense Development, Dae Jeon, South Korea
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the conceptual design and optimisation of a compound gyroplane. A study of a compound gyroplane
conguration and its characteristics was performed to develop a sizing program.
Design/methodology/approach The vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of a helicopter are particularly important. The need for efcient hover
and the effectiveness of forward ight in the helicopter can cause conicts within the design process. The designers usually wish to increase the
helicopters maximum forward speed. Recently, the compound aircraft is one of the concepts considered for the purpose of expanding the ight
envelope of rotorcraft. The study of the compound gyroplane showed its advance capabilities for this purpose. Understanding its characteristics,
a number of calculations are conducted to implement a sizing program for compound gyroplanes based on the conventional helicopter sizing process.
Findings The results of the sizing program were validated using existing aircraft data such as the Challis Heliplane, Carter Copter, FB-1 Gyrodyne,
and Jet Gyrodyne. The program is appropriate to size a compound gyroplane at the conceptual design phase. An optimisation study was also performed
to enhance sizing results. The compromise between the rotor lift sharing factor and the ratio of the wing span (Bw) to rotor diameter (D) was solved by
choosing the total gross weight (TOGW) as the objective function, while the design variables are compromising factors. The optimum results showed
that the TOGW of all four kinds of compound gyroplanes was considerably reduced.
Originality/value A conceptual sizing program for unconventional compound aircraft was developed. The study showed that an optimum design
process is necessary to enhance the sizing results.
Keywords Compound gyroplane, Design optimisation, Aircraft sizing, Aircraft, Helicopters
Paper type Research paper
Nomenclature
Symbol
Bw wing span (m)
D rotor diameter (m)
N rotor lift sharing factor
A rotor disc area (m
2
)
V rotor rotational speed (rad/s)
R rotor radius (m)
C
P0
rotor prole power coefcient
C
d0
rotor average prole drag coefcient
s rotor solidity
m advance ratio
k rotor induced power correction factor
C
Q
rotor prole torque
C
Q
i
rotor induced torque
l inow ratio
C
T
rotor thrust coefcient
a rotor disc tilting angle
r air density (slugs/ft
3
)
T
rotor
rotor thrust (N)
H
rotor
rotor drag force (N)
D
wing
wing drag (N)
D
fuselage
fuselage drag (N)
T
prop
thrust required for the propeller (N)
C
H
rotor drag force coefcients
P required power for compound gyroplane (kW)
V forward speed (m/s)
h
prop
propeller efciency
Q available torque from tip-jet system (N.m)
F
j
tip drive force of tip-jet system (N)
m
j
tip-jet mass ow rate (kg/s)
V
T
rotor tip speed (m/s)
V
j
tip-jet nozzle exit velocity (m/s)
T
0
d
total temperature in the rotor duct (K)
P
0
d
total pressure in the rotor duct (N/m
2
)
L
wing
wing lift (N)
C
W
wing lift coefcient
W/S wing loading (N/m
2
)
Abbreviations
TOGW total gross weight
CRW canard rotor/wing
VTOL vertical takeoff/landing
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1748-8842.htm
Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal
83/6 (2011) 420428
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1748-8842]
[DOI 10.1108/00022661111173298]
This work was supported by a National Research Foundation Grant
funded by the Korean Government with project reference K2060100001,
and also the Defence Acquisition Program Administration and Agency for
Defence Development in Republic of Korea under contract
UD070041AD.
420
STOL short takeoff/landing
SQP sequential quadratic programming
GA genetic algorithm
MDO multidisciplinary design optimization
UAV unmanned air vehicle
CFD computational uid dynamics
FEM nite element method
SLP sequential linear program
WE empty weight
PL payload
HT horizontal tail
VT vertical tail
Introduction
The helicopter is a complex system. The main complexity
comes from the rotor aerodynamics. A helicopter design is
usually evaluated by its hover and forward ight performance.
These demands are conicting. The helicopter must achieve a
steady hovering ight condition with efcient performance.
This is achieved with a large main rotor size where the blades
rotate in the horizontal plane (Newman, 2006). The blade tip
Mach number is usually 0.5-0.7. After achieving an efcient
hover, the helicopter is required to move into forward ight.
Therefore, the rotor of a helicopter is responsible for providing
lift in opposition to the helicopters weight, propulsion
(horizontal thrust) to overcome the drag of the aircraft, and
force and moment to control the altitude and position of the
helicopter. In forward ight, a component of the free stream
adds to or subtracts from the rotational velocity at each part of
the blade (Leishman, 2006). This produces a dissymmetry of
the aerodynamic condition on the retreating side to the
advancing side of the rotor. In order to overcome this particular
problem, Juan de la Cierva came up with the solution of using
apping hinges which enable the rotor blades to move, in a
vertical sense, out of the plane of rotation (Newman, 2006).
However, the forward speed of the helicopter is limited due to
the problem of compressibility of the advancing blade tip, and
stall condition of the retreating blade tip. One method of
overcoming the limitations of the rotor is to provide it with a lift
and propulsion source by using an additional wing and/or
propeller, commonly known as the compound helicopter.
One of the advanced concepts studied by Carter Aviation
Technologies is the slowed rotor/compound aircraft.
The aircraft technology is so named because it involves
dramatically slowing the rotor of a hybrid rotorcraft and
transferring lift to wings that are optimised for high-speed
ight (Carter, 2010). In forward ight, the rotating speed of
the rotor is reduced in comparison with hover performance.
In some concepts, the rotor is still powered by the engine. The
concept of the rotor not being powered by the engine but by
an autorotation phenomenon is called the gyroplane. In this
study, a compound gyroplane with an additional wing and
with the rotor on an autogiro is considered. An autogiro has a
rotor that can turn freely on a rotor shaft. The rotor tilts
backward at an angle of attack. The aircraft moves forward in
level ight powered by a propeller. The resultant aerodynamic
forces on the blades cause the necessary torque to spin the
rotor and create lift (Leishman, 2004). Both wing and rotor
generate lift, however the division of lift on the rotor and the
wing are different in each ight condition (low speed, high
speed, etc.). The thrust is usually generated by turbofan
or turboprop engines via propellers. The autogiro was
developed by Juan de la Cierva and it was the rst type of
rotating-wing aircraft to y successfully (de la Cierva and
Rose, 1931). The aerodynamic phenomenon of autorotating
bodies had been observed in variety of experiments by the
beginning of the twentieth century, which date to earlier
theoretical work by the Scottish Physicist James Maxwell.
Wheatley (1933) studied the load sharing between the rotor
and the wing and also examined the manoeuvrability
characteristics of the autogiro.
Gustafson (1971) gave a rst-hand summary of the early
NACA technical work on both autogiros and helicopters.
In the 1950s, there was a series of prototypes designed by the
Fairey Company in Britain and Lockheed in the USA. These
were designed to overcome the inherent forward ight speed
limitations of a conventional helicopter. During the late 1950s
and early 1960s, single and two seat commercial autogiros
were developed in North America for the private aviation
market by three companies: Umbaugh (later air and space),
Avian, and McCulloch.
Recently, there are two companies in the USA that
have developed the idea of the autogiro or gyroplane. Using
modern technologies they have exploited its capabilities. These
companies are Carter Aviation Technologies and Groen
Brothers Aviation. The Carter concept incorporates a rotor
and xed wing. The rotor provides nearly all of the lift during
takeoff and landing, the wing provides most of the lift in high
forward speed, the rotor completely ofoaded and operating in
its autorotation.
Groen Brothers Aviation Company and the Georgia Institute
of Technology have been developing the Heliplane for
the DARPA project. A reaction driven system is applied in the
Heliplane for vertical ight. When the Heliplane takes off, the
engine nozzle closes and gas owgoes to the rotor tip-jet nozzles
through duct pipes. When it cruises, the duct pipes are closed
and the engine nozzle is opened, and then the gas ow is blown
out through the nozzle.
From a scientic perspective, there are very few studies
regarding autogiros. At Glasgow University, the stability,
control, and handling qualities of autogiros have been
examined (Houston, 1998).
This paper describes the characteristics of the compound
gyroplane and its advantages, thereby developing a sizing
program for this kind of conguration. An optimisation study
was also performed in order to enhance the sizing results.
This is a valuable accomplishment for the conceptual design
study of unconventional rotorcraft.
Aircraft conguration design and optimisation
study
This section will discuss about conguration design
and optimisation study of xed-wing aircraft, helicopter, and
compound aircraft. The characteristics of compound
gyroplane will be discussed.
Compound gyroplane characteristics
As the helicopter moves forward, the advance ratio andblade tip
Mach number also increases in response to the speed of the
helicopter. The rotor of a conventional helicopter has a xed
rotating speed. The advance ratio is dened by a ratio of the
forwardspeedof the machine to the rotor blade tipspeed. As the
advance ratio increases, the advancing rotor tip speed could
Conguration design and optimisation study of a compound gyroplane
Ngoc Anh Vu, Young-Jae Lee, Jae-Woo Lee, Sangho Kim and In Jae Chung
Volume 83 Number 6 2011 420428
421
reach the supersonic condition where the drag increases
signicantly, known as drag divergence; in addition the
retreating rotor tip speed could enter the stall condition due
to the high angle of attack of the blade. The compressibility at
the advancing blade tip and the stall at the retreating side limit
the forward speed. Asolution to the problemis to supply the lift
and propulsion by providing the fuselage with a wing to ofoad
the rotor, together with anauxiliary propulsiondevice. The idea
leads to the launch of a new hybrid aircraft concept. An aircraft
withwings, propellers, androtors poweredby anengine is called
a compound helicopter. As the rotor freely rotates in forward
ight, the hybrid aircraft as mentioned is called a compound
gyroplane. According to those discussions, the lift from the
rotor of a compound gyroplane is the major component when
it ies at takeoff, landing, or low speed. On the other hand, the
wings are the main surface that generates lift at high speed.
When compared to a xed-wing aircraft, the compound
gyroplane needs a very short runway for takeoff and landing.
The rotor of a gyroplane always operates in an autorotative
condition, where the power to turn the rotor comes from a
relative owdirectedupward. As the aircraft moves forward, the
rotor continues to turn and produce lift. Because the rotor is
always in the autorotative state, the gyroplane always descends
and lands safely when engine power is lost. The gyroplane
system is simpler than a shaft-driven helicopter because it does
not need an engine gearbox and rotor transmission. The
separate countering torque reaction, such as the tail rotor onthe
helicopter, is also not necessary. These all signicantly reduced
the weight, design, production and capital cost. The ve-seater
aircraft, the slow rotor/compound prototype of Carter, has
achievedanadvance ratioof 0.87. It demonstrates the validity of
the technology and feasibility of constructing rotorcraft capable
of high-speed and high-altitude ight with a fuel efciency
approaching that of xed-wing aircraft (Carter, 2010). The
lightweight sports gyroplane can y at a cruising condition of
about 18 knots (33 km/h).
One disadvantage of the gyroplane is that it cannot hover.
In 1933, de la Cierva and James Bennett built a systemin which
the rotor couldbe clutchedto the engine througha transmission
when the gyroplane was on the ground. The friction from its
wheels prevents it from turning and responding to the rotor
torque reaction. In this condition, the blades could be set to a
at pitch. When the speed of the rotor reaches the necessary
speed to lift the aircraft, the rotor would be declutched fromthe
engine transmission and the collective pitch increased. This
technique is termed jump takeoff (Prewitt, 1938). This system
could also support the hover take off and landing of a gyroplane.
However, the machine needs a device to react to the rotor
torque. For that purpose two propellers on either side (left and
right) of the machine are preferred, as in the Carter Heliplane.
Some other technologies known as the pressure jet propulsion
system are applied to eliminate rotor torque. According to this
concept, the rotor is turned by the engine exhaust air ejected
through the rotor-tip nozzles. It should be noted that the
installation of any system such as clutch-declutch system,
or tip-jet system, could increase the complexity of the machine
system and consequently increase the maintenance, operation
cost, and the overall weight of the vehicle.
Classication of aircraft
Figure 1 shows compound aircraft classications proposed
by the author. The compound gyroplane belongs to the
compound aircraft category. There are three different kinds
of aircraft in this category. The rst is the multimode aircraft
including the tilt-rotor aircraft, tilt-wing aircraft, and canard
rotor/wing (CRW). The second is the compound helicopter;
this is a winged helicopter which has an auxiliary engine,
the AH-56 Cheyenne belongs to this category. The last
classication is the compound gyroplane, which is divided into
two subcategories: short takeoff and landing (STOL) and
vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) compound gyroplanes.
The Carter Copter is a STOL, while the Heliplane is a VTOL.
Optimisation design studies
Design is a process of nding a set of design variables which
satisfy the predened design requirements and the system
performance. To nd the set of design variables a designer
carries out a sensitivity study, a study of the effects on a design
objective with respect to changes in each of the design variables.
Based on the sensitivity study, the design variables are then
properly bounded; that is their maximumand minimumvalues
are determined. Finally, a number of diverse optimisation
algorithms such as gradient based, sequential quadratic
programming, genetic algorithm, etc. are applied to seek the
optimum solution.
Since each system in an engineering design consists of
multiple disciplines that are linked together, a design
process should consider all of these systems concurrently.
Multidisciplinary design optimisation (MDO), which
allows designers to incorporate all the relevant disciplines
simultaneously, takes into account mutually dependent design
elements from various elds, and has the advantage of reduced
time and cost compared to serial design approaches. Since
MDOwas originally devised inthe 1990s, it has been developed
for the design of aircrafts, although it has also recently been
applied to diverse design applications including shipbuilding
and automobile engineering. Applying MDOmethodologies to
actual design problems requires several techniques such as
system modelling, analysis of each discipline, approximation,
system decomposition, sensitivity analysis, and optimisation.
Design optimisation of aircraft
The state of the art of aircraft design optimisation is discussed
in this section.
Fixed-wing aircraft
Generally, xed-wing aircraft design optimisation based on
semi-empirical equations has been well established since the
beginning of aircraft design. These methods, based on
Jan Roskam, Raymer methods, GASP, and ACSYNT, have
been used extensively and efciently to acquire rapid analysis
results in MDO frameworks.
These low-delity methods consist of aerodynamics,
propulsion, mission, weight, stability and control (S & C),
and performance modules. For design optimisation of a
conventional xed-wing aircraft, sizing is rst carried out
using the aerodynamics, propulsion, mission, and weight
modules. Then, a performance measure of the aircraft of
interest is taken using the S & C and performance module.
Finally, designoptimisation is carriedout basedonthe results of
the analysis to nd the best aircraft conguration by setting the
design objectives, typically taken as the takeoff gross weight
or endurance of the aircraft. This low-delity model has been
successfully used for the design of various conventional
aircraft including an advanced ghter and an unmanned air
vehicle (UAV).
422
However, this low-delity model is basically built on
conventional xed-wing aircraft regression data. Hence, the
design of unconventional aircraft, such as UAVand unmanned
combat air vehicles, may possibly encounter problems when
low-delity analysis is used.
More recently, to obtain more reliable aircraft design
results, high-delity methods such as computational uid
dynamics (CFD) and the nite element method (FEM) have
been used in MDO frameworks. For example, an MDO of the
main wing for an unconventional aircraft has been performed
using CFD and FEM (Choi, 2010). In addition, much
research into MDO framework development has been carried
out in order to provide more convenient MDO environments
for the designer. Although the computational cost of solving
the high-delity codes has decreased rapidly due to the
development of computer resources over recent years,
obstacles are still encountered when applying them to large
MDO problems based on high-delity codes.
Helicopter
State of the art of conceptual helicopter design still relies on a
few well-known codes such as HESCOMP, VASCOMP, and
GTPDP, which employ empirical equations. In contrast to
xed-wing design, most of the research focuses on the design
of the rotor blade to optimise performance, vibration, noise,
and so on because the performance of the rotor blade plays an
essential role in most of the disciplines regarding helicopter
design.
Recently, several efforts to simulate the aerodynamics of the
helicopter rotor blade have been in progress. However,
achieving results remains difcult and expensive.
Compound aircraft
Only a few design optimisations of compound aircraft have
been made by some technologically advanced countries. For
example, MDO has been carried out for sizing stopped rotor
congurations which utilise reaction drive and circulation
control (Dimitri et al., 1994). Recently, the NASA Heavy Lift
Rotorcraft Systems Investigation was conducted to identify
candidate congurations for large civil VTOL transport,
that is technically promising and economically competitive
(Johnson et al., 2006). Yeo and Johnson (2008) carried out
the optimum design of a compound helicopter and conducted
performance, S & C analyses using comprehensive rotorcraft
analysis, CAMRAD II. In Korea, there has also been some
research into the design optimisation of a tilt-rotor
conguration and CRW conguration as part of the Korean
Smart UAV development project.
Meanwhile, little research on the design optimisation of
compound gyroplanes has been reported, since compound
aircraft are rarely developed. Currently, in the development of
the Heliplane, the design method for the CRWconguration is
used since the reaction drive for CRW is also applicable to the
Heliplane. However, it would seem that no proper design tools
for the Carter Copter design have existed until recently. Based
on the characteristics of the compound gyroplane, the design
features of xed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft should be taken
into account simultaneously. Otherwise emerging aerodynamic
characteristics due to the unconventional conguration, such as
interference drag between the rotor and wing of the compound
gyroplane, cannot be properly analysed. In particular, since the
balance of lift on the wing and the rotor for each ight mode
should be carefully handled, establishing a design process using
an optimisation method is essential for compound gyroplane
design. In addition, considering the complexity and the
unfamiliarity of the compound gyroplane and the expected
rise in demand for this unconventional aircraft concept,
MDO studies should be actively continued. For this purpose,
a compound gyroplane sizing programhas been developed and
its suitability has been validated using existing aircraft data.
Using the sizing program developed, a conceptual design
Figure 1 Classication of aircraft
Aircraft
Compound
Aircraft
Rotary Wing
Aircraft
Fixed Wing
Aircraft
Compound
Helicopter
Transition Aircraft
(Multimode)
Tilt Rotor Tilt Wing
Canard Rotor /
Wing (CRW)
STOL Gyroplane
(Carter Copter)
VTOL Gyroplane
(Heliplane)
Compound
Gyroplane
Gyroplane
(No Wing)
Helicopter
423
and optimisation study has been performed to obtain the
conguration and weight of a compound gyroplane in the
present work.
Compound gyroplane sizing program
development
In the sizing program developed, HESCOMP, the rotary
wing sizing program and the CRW sizing program which was
developed by Konkuk University, were based on (Jeon et al.,
2008). The winged helicopter was chosen for the
compound gyroplane concept from among the rotary-wing
aircraft concepts that can be analysed in HESCOMP (Davis
and Wisniewski, 1973). In general, all data trends of the
compound gyroplane come from conventional helicopter
statistical data. Some modules are added to and eliminated
from the conventional helicopter sizing process. In this study,
the compound gyroplane is considered for the sizing process.
The VTOL performance are conducted by the tip-jet system.
Development considerations
Inherently, the conventional helicopter employs a turbo-shaft
engine to drive the main rotor and tail rotor. In contrast with
a conventional helicopter, the compound gyroplane uses
turboprop or turbofan engines to drive the propeller and to
directly provide thrust. Therefore, an engine cycle analysis
module was developed in order to analyse turbofan and
turboprop engines. In the conguration and weight analysis
modules, the additional xed main wing is sized according to a
lift sharing factor between the wing and rotor. Horizontal
tail (HT) and vertical tail sizing are based on size trends of
helicopter data. In comparison to the helicopter, the compound
gyroplane has no tail rotor or rotor transmission system, so that
the weight of these components should be eliminated from the
sizing process.
At low speed most of the lift was obtained from the rotor,
while at high speed most of the lift was obtained from the
main wing. Therefore, the lift sharing factor (N) between the
rotor and the wing is considered in this program.
The energy to drive the rotor in forward ight comes from
the relative airstream directed upward through the rotor
(Leishman, 2006). For this reason, the interference between
the rotor and the wing is eliminated.
Program development
The compound gyroplane sizing program consists of eight
modules as shown in Figure 2. A rotor performance analysis
module for calculating the rotor performance, a mission
analysis module for calculating fuel weight, an aerodynamic
analysis module for calculating drag and lift, an engine
cycle analysis module for calculating the available power and
selecting the engine, a conguration module for geometry
denition, a weight module for calculating the weight of
components and takeoff gross weight, an atmosphere analysis
module for calculating atmospheric conditions, and a tip-jet
module for calculating the reaction driven system condition,
such as duct loss and mass-owrate. In this program, the tip-jet
module is only used for a VTOL compound gyroplane
(Lee et al., 2009).
Required power module (trim module)
The rotor of a compound gyroplane is not powered by an
engine. The power comes from the relative airstream directed
upward through the rotor. The rotor of a gyroplane always
operates in an autorotative condition. Therefore, the system
should be solved for a zero-power condition. The forces
acting on the aircraft are shown in Figure 3.
The prole power of the rotor is given as (Leishman, 2004):
C
P0

sC
d0
8
1 3m
2
3
8
m
4

1
The net shaft torque is zero because of the autorotative
condition:
C
Q
C
Q0
C
Qi
C
P 0
klC
T
0 2
The inow ratio is given by Leishman (2004):
l mtan2a
C
T
2
m
2
l
2
p 3
A negative sign preceding the a must be used because the disk
tilts backwards.
In the compound gyroplane, the wing shares the lift with
the rotor. Therefore, the lift sharing factor N is assumed in
advance. In addition, the thrust coefcient of the rotor is
calculated for the thrust vector based on the lift force which
the rotor should generate:
C
T

GW:N
rAVR
2
cosa
4
Equations (2) and (3) are solved simultaneously for the
advance ratio m and the angle of attack of the rotor disc a.
Since autorotation is obtained, the thrust required for the
propeller is calculated as:
T
prop
T
rotor
sina H
rotor
cosa D
wing
D
fuselage
5
Where the drag force coefcient of the rotor is:
C
H

sC
d0
8
2m 0:5m
3

6
The required power for a compound gyroplane at level ight
is then calculated as:
P
T
prop
V
h
prop
7
Engine cycle module and tip-jet system
The ONX program written for preliminary analysis of
common air-breathing aircraft engine cycles is used. This
program can be used to analyse the design point performance
of an engine cycle with changes in the design ight condition
(altitude, Mach number), cycle design variables (fan pressure
ratio, cycle bypass ratio, compressor pressure ratio, etc.) cycle
design limit (maximum temperature at main burner or
afterburner exit), or component efciency (main burner
combustion efciency) (Jack, 1996).
In cases where the tip-jet system is applied to provide hover
capacity for the compound gyroplane, the required torque to
drive the rotor is produced by a force created by the air
ejected through the rotor tip nozzles (Dimitri et al., 1994;
Jeon et al., 2008):
Q F
j
R 8
F
j
_ m
j
V
j
2V
T
9
424
The tip-jet velocity can be calculated based on the assumption
that the ow undergoes an isentropic expansion from the
rotor blades internal pressure to the free-stream pressure
outside the exhaust nozzle (Dimitri et al., 1994; Jeon et al.,
2008):
V
j

2RT
0d
g
g 21

1 2
P
1
P
0

g21=g
" #
v
u
u
t
10
These modules are additional modules for compound
gyroplane sizing in comparison with the conventional
compound helicopter sizing process. Some other
components such as tail rotor and transmission are not
considered in this process.
In general, the ight conditions, initial engine parameters
and lift sharing factor between the rotor and wing data are
input rst, and then the compound gyroplane conguration is
decided in the conguration module. The results from
preceding steps are used as input data for the aerodynamic
module and engine cycle analysis module. The lift and drag
data from the aerodynamic module are used for calculating
the installed engine power in the engine cycle analysis
module. Thereafter, the empty weight is estimated based on
the empirical formulation. Fuel weight is calculated according
to a specied mission and is added to the empty weight to get
the total gross weight (TOGW). The discrepancy between
Figure 2 Module composition
Engine Cycle
Module
(Turbofan, Turboprop)
Configuration
Module
(Define Geometry)
Weight Trend
Module
(Calculate TOGW)
Atmosphere
Module
(Calculate Atmosphere
Condition)
Tip Jet Module
Only VTOL Compound
Gyroplane
Trim Module
(Calculate Power Required)
Mission Analysis
Module
(Calculate Fuel Weight)
Aerodynamic
Module
(Calculate Lift & Drag)
Figure 3 The forces acting on compound gyroplane components
T_propeller
GW
L_wing
D_wing
H_rotor
T_rotor
L_rotor
D_induced
D_body
Source: Ahn and Chae (2009)
425
the calculated TOGWand initial TOGW creates iterations of
the process. Otherwise, the process ends.
The total program process is shown in Figure 4 (Lee et al.,
2010).
Program validation
The Carter Copter, Challis Heliplane, and FB-1 Gyrodyne
were selected to validate the STOL compound gyroplane
program, and the Jet Gyrodyne is selected for VTOL
compound gyroplane program validation. In the case of
STOL, the difference between existing data and calculated
data is less than 10 per cent. The rotor-lift sharing and wing
span to rotor diameter ratio (Bw/D) factors all play important
roles in obtaining sizing results. Currently, there are no data
trends that can be used to estimate these factors. Therefore,
an optimisation loop is performed to enhance the sizing
results. Figures 5 and 6 show the trends of Bw/D and N in
response to the TOGW calculated by the sizing program for
the Carter Copter. In general, the takeoff gross weight
increases when the Bw/D increases and N decreases. Other
compound gyroplanes tendencies are the same as those
shown by these graphs (Lee et al., 2010).
In the case of VTOL, the Jet Gyrodyne is used for validation.
The Jet Gyrodyne uses a pressure-jet rotor drive system for
vertical ight, while the sizing program assumes that a tip-jet
system is used for calculating VTOL. However, the sizing
results still showgood agreement with existing data. Tables I-IV
show the program results and existing air vehicles data.
Optimisation study on compound gyroplane
The lack of statistical data trends for compound gyroplanes
leads to the requirement for implementing an adequate sizing
process. In this study, the optimisation problemis performed to
reduce the TOGW. The design variables are Bw/D and N. The
design constraints are dened as the lift to drag ratio (L/D) and
the minimumspeed for cruising ight. The design optimization
tools 5.X is employed to perform the optimisation process.
The optimal results obtained using sequential linear program,
a gradient-based method, are shown in Tables V-VIII.
The optimal results show that TOGW could be reduced by
altering Bw/D and N without degrading the L/D ratio and
minimum cruising speed performance. The tradeoff
between wing span and rotor diameter is a critical issue
Figure 4 Sizing program process
Conceptual Sizing Process
Configuration
Rotor Lift Estimation:
Vertical Takeoff (100%)
Wing Lift Estimation:
L
Wing
= GW (1-N)
Fuselage Sizing
HT, VT Sizing
Pylon Sizing
Wing Sizing
Rotor Disc Area
Calculation
Power Calculation
Duct Loss
Calculation
Vertical Flight
(VTOL)
Low Speed
Cruise Flight
High Speed
Cruise Flight
Wing Lift /Drag
Profile Drag
Rotor Lift /Drag
Aerodynamic
Initial Sizing Results
Max P
req
Max P
req
Configuration Data
Yes
No Revised GW
Empty
Weight
Installed
Power
Gw = WE + PL + Fuel Weight
GW(Initial) =
GW(Mission)?
Mission Analysis
Mission Segment
Fuel Weight
Total Required Fule
Total Fuel
req
Engine Sizing
Weight
Weight Data
Mission Fuel req.
Aerodynamic Data
Propulsion Data
Maximum Power
Required
Span, C
w
, W/S
Calculation
D
MR
, Solidity
Calculation
Mission Profile, Requirements, Assumption Basic Data (Rotor Lift Sharing Factor, Bw/D, Aircraft Lauout)
426
of the compound gyroplane. The lift sharing factor and ratio
(between wing span and rotor diameter) parameters are
assumed in advance in the sizing process. The optimisation
processes were performed in order to identify those parameters
suitable for weight reduction. The optimal results throughout
the validated aircraft showed that the weight can be signicant
Figure 5 Bw/D vs TOGW
3,200
3,000
2,800
2,600
2,400
Bw/D
2,200
0
.
1
0
.
2
5
0
.
5
5
0
.
8
5
2
.
5 4 1
0
.
7
0
.
4
T
O
G
W
Figure 6 N vs TOGW
3,200
3,000
2,800
2,600
2,400
N
2,200
2,000
0
.
1
0
.
2
0
.
5
0
.
4
0
.
8
0
.
9
0
.
7
0
.
6
0
.
3
T
O
G
W
Table I Challis Heliplane UAV results (STOL)
Parameter Existing aircraft Output Error (%)
TOGW 662 kg 647 kg 2.3
Empty weight 417 kg 455 kg 8.9
Power 313 kW 324 kW 3.6
Body length 8.13 m 7.5 m 7.8
Rotor diameter 7.67 m 6.95 m 9.4
Main wing span 3.81 m 3.47 m 8.8
HT span 1.78 m 1.77 m 0.5
Table III FB-1 Gyrodyne results (VTOL)
TOGW 2,172 kg 2,100 kg 3.3
Empty weight 1,629 kg 1,496 kg 8.2
Power 388 kW 414 kW 5.7
HT span 3.66 m 3.87 m 6.7
Table IV Jet Gyrodyne results (VTOL)
TOGW 2,177 kg 2,220 kg 2.0
Empty weight 1,633 kg 1,628 kg 0.3
Power 388 kW 359 kW 7.5
HT span 3.66 m 3.78 m 3.3
Table II Carter Copter results (STOL)
TOGW 1,452 kg 1,375 kg 5.3
Empty weight 907 kg 881 kg 2.9
Power 448 kW 462 kW 3.2
Main wing area 7.15 m
2
6.70 m
2
6.4
Table V Challis Heliplane optimisation results (STOL)
Problem
composition Initial value Results
Objective (kg) 662 581
Design variables 0.10 # Bw/D # 0.90 0.50 0.39
0.10 # N # 0.90 0.25 0.57
Design constraints L/D $ L/D(baseline) 4.93 4.99
V
min
# V
min
(baseline) 54 km/h 52 km/h
Table VI Carter Copter optimisation results (STOL)
Problem
Objective (kg) 1,452 1,253
0.10 # N # 0.90 0.20 0.34
V
min
# V
min
Table VII FB-1 Gyrodyne optimisation results (STOL)
Problem
0.10 # N # 0.90 0.30 0.26
V
min
# V
min
427
reduced by reorganising the relationbetweenthe rotor andwing
conguration. The optimal lift sharing factors are around 0.35
for most aircrafts, while the wing span/rotor diameter vary in
wide range according to the TOGW. Large aircraft such as
Gyrodyne require a larger wing span compared to existing
aircraft to reduce the weight.
Conclusion
This study described the characteristics of the compound
gyroplane and its advantages, thereby developing the sizing
program for this kind of conguration. The sizing process
generated shows that it is appropriate for the conceptual level
of compound gyroplane design. The validations present good
agreement between existing compound gyroplane data and
the estimated data. Although the statistical data of compound
gyroplanes are quite decient, the authors have developed a
sizing process where the well known HESCOMP program is
based on. Good agreement between some existing gyroplanes
such as the Challis Heliplane, Carter Copter, FB-1 Gyrodyne,
and Jet Gyrodyne and results of the sizing process are shown.
The ratio of the wing span to rotor diameter (Bw/D) and lift
sharing (N) factors should correspond to the size and
performance mission of each gyroplane. However, these
factors are inputs of the sizing process, and thus an
optimisation process is necessary to complement the lack of
existing data trends. The optimal results show that TOGW
could be reduced by altering Bw/D and N without degrading
the ratio and minimum cruising speed performance.
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Analysis Theory Manual, Alpha Engineering, Bear, DE.
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Choi, S.M. (2010), Multidisciplinary UAV design
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de la Cierva, J. and Rose, D. (1931), Wings of Tomorrow:
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Lee, Y.J., Kang, H.J., Kim, J.M., Lee, J.W. and Chung, I.J.
(2009), Now and future of compound aircraft,
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Chung, I.J. (2010), Design and optimization study on
compound gyroplane aircraft, paper presented at
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of Structural and Mechanical Systems, Kyoto.
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Leishman, J.G. (2006), Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics,
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efcacy?, Aircraft Engineering & Aerospace Technology
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Corresponding author
Jae-Woo Lee can be contacted at: jwlee@konkuk.ac.kr
Table VIII Jet Gyrodyne optimisation results (VTOL)
Problem
0.10 # N # 0.90 0.30 0.32
V
min
# V
min
428
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