1. Richard Shepherd - Jose Rios - Bruk Sahilu

2. Mission:  Team Airwolf is set to test the stresses applied to a Helicopter Rotor Blade as it rotates about an axis

3. Measure the forces acting on a helicopter rotor blade by:  Making a free body diagram of the entire rotor blade machine.  Use analytical techniques to calculate external forces.  Apply the principles of Dynamics to a 3D rotor blade using Solidworks, and Nastran4D  Make design decisions based on simulations that apply Newtons’ Laws  Design Recommendations

4. Design:  First, the airfoil shape was sketched using Solidworks. A simple extrusion provides a rotor blade.

5. Design:  Then, two cones were drawn at the base to provide an anchor contact surface and a contact point for the pitch rod to attach.

6. Design:  Then, the blades will all connect to this rotor hub/shaft.

7. Design:  After making a few smaller connecting parts it is possible to generate an assembly of the complete rotorhead. The model is now ready to be imported into Nastran 4D.

8. Design:  And finally, FEA analysis was performed on the blades.

9. Results: The stresses are concentrated at the base of the rotor blades as to be expected. This is due to a combination of the weight of the blades hanging as a cantilever along with the centripetal accelerations accumulating into concentration points nearer to the hub.

10. Future Missions:  Potential Lift  Variable Actuators  Blade Collision Jose J. Granda, Ph.D. The End