Enhanced Helicopter Handling Qualities Through Vibratory Loads Exploration
Host institution
Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands)
Supervisors
Co-tutoring institution
Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
Start date
Strictly before end of May 2017
Duration
48 months
Gross salary
38.925,00 € per year
Work location
Mainly Delft (The Netherlands) and Milano (Italy)
Objective
The handling qualities (HQs) of helicopters have been a subject of considerable interest and concern for safety of piloted flights. “Handling qualities” represent the integrated value of helicopter stability (or instability) in flight, helicopter controllability and pilot’s ability to maneuver the helicopter. The current practice of assessing helicopter HQs still reveals significant gaps in its criteria, however.
The main objective of this project is to develop novel, multi-disciplinary performance-vibratory HQ criteria which are better capable of quantifying the effects of vibratory loads on HQs, pilot workload and the helicopter automated flight control systems. This will ensure the understanding of future extended helicopter flight envelopes, including very demanding maneuvers which impose heavy vibrations on both structure and pilot. For this project simulation models, missions and environments will be developed and assessed in a multi-disciplinary manner in the flight simulators available to the NITROS project.
The ESR will need: 1) to understand how pilot manual control performance is affected by structural loads and vibrations, and 2) to perform parallel structural load alleviation and performance enhancement through a model-based approach. Several helicopter HQs criteria given by the Aeronautical Design Standard ADS-33 will be extended to vibratory loads criteria for multidisciplinary helicopter design. This project builds on the helicopter simulation models available at TU Delft and POLIMI. It uses the SIMONA Flight Simulator (SRS) from TU Delft and other simulator facilities available to the NITROS project.
Research profile
The researcher will be working with TU Delft (The Netherlands) and POLIMI (Italy) towards a dual doctorate degree. Secondments to research institutes will be performed at National Aerospace Center (NLR) in the Netherlands and at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for practical implementation of extended HQs criteria into the helicopter standards.
Research field
• Handling Qualities
• Rotorcraft
• Stability and control
• Simulator/flight test planning, pilot evaluation
• Modelling and Simulation
• Flight dynamics
• Aero-structural modelling
• Pilot modelling
Requirements
• MSc degree in aerospace engineering (preferred)
• Experience with handling qualities
• Ability to program in Matlab and/or C
• Solid background in flight dynamics
Type of contract
The successful ESR applicant will be offered a 4-year full-time funded contract by Delft University of Technology.
Additional Eligibility criteria
English language (IELTS overall score 6.5; no sub-test less than 6.0)
