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Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer

Flight Adaptive Blade for Optimum Rotor Response (FABFORR)

Completed Technology Project
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Project Description

Flight Adaptive Blade for Optimum Rotor Response (FABFORR)
While past research has demonstrated the utility and benefits to be gained with the application of advanced rotor system control concepts, none have been implemented to date on a production military or commercial rotorcraft. A key contributor to this fact is the inherent cost associated with installation and maintenance of these control systems, since many system designs require the replacement of a helicopter's rotor blades, rotor hub components, or both. The proposed work addresses this deficiency through the development of an on-blade full-span camber control system that reaps many of the known benefits of advanced rotor control, in a retrofit design approach that has the potential to achieve production status due to its lower risks and costs compared to previous system concepts. The design leverages past work in the use of smart-material actuated bistable tabs for rotor blade tracking, with a newer integral actuation concept that will lead toward a more robust and flightworthy design. More »

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This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.

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