WIND TUNNEL TEST OF A PRESSURE INSTRUMENTED MODEL SCALE ADVANCED ROTOR

A ten foot diameter pressure gage instrumented model rotor was tested in the 20 by 20 foot test section of the Boeing Vertol Wind Tunnel during February 1985. The objectives of this first wind tunnel entry included aeroacoustic testing at low speeds and airloads/performance measurements at high speeds. This paper addresses the high speed portion of the wind tunnel test and preliminary test/theory correlation, both carried out as part of company funded advanced rotor research. Two of the model blades were instrumented to measure complete chordwise pressure distributions at six spanwise stations, one blade was instrumented with leading edge pressure gages, and one was instrumented with strain gages to quantify chord and flap bending and torsion loads. Although limited in scope and duration, the test yielded useful performance, airload, and blade bending load data, and it provided the experience for more comprehensive tests planned for later this year and next year.