Preliminary Design and Analysis of an Advanced Rotorcraft Transmission

Future rotorcraft transmissions of the 1990's and beyond the year 2000 require the incorporation of key emerging material and component technologies using advanced and innovative design practices in order to meet the requirements for a reduced weight-to-power ratio, a decreased noise level, and a substantially increased reliability. The specific goals for future rotorcraft transmissions when compared with current state-of-the-art transmissions are a 25% weight reduction, a 10-dB reduction in the transmitted noise level, and a system reliability of 5000 hours mean-time-between-removal for the transmission. This paper will present the results of the design studies conducted to meet the stated goals for an advanced rotorcraft transmission. These design studies include system configuration, planetary gear train selection, and reliability prediction methods.