Since the original publication of 'Bramwell's Helicopter Dynamics' in 1976, this book has become the definitive text on helicopter dynamics and a fundamental part of the study of the behaviour of helicopters. This new edition builds on the strengths of the original and hence the approach of the first edition is retained. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of helicopter aerodynamics, stability, control, structural dynamics, vibration, aeroelastic and aeromechanical stability. As such, Bramwell's Helicopter Dynamics is essential for all those in aeronautical engineering.THE single volume comprehensive guide for anyone working with helicopters Written by leading worldwide experts in the field
This edition builds on the strengths of the original text, and the structure and approach of the first edition is retained to provide a comprehensive overview of helicopter aerodynamics, stability and aeromechanical stability.
This volume is an excellent introduction to the aerodynamics of helicopters. Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics provides an account of the first principles in the fluid mechanics and flight dynamics of single-rotor helicopters. The text is intended to provide, in a short volume, an introduction to the theory of rotary-wing aircraft for use by undergraduate and graduate students, while providing a detailed description of the physical phenomena involved. The text assumes that the reader already has some knowledge of differences between the fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Many diagrams, drawings, graphs, and representative sets of data augment the text.
Basic Helicopter Aerodynamics is widely appreciated as an easily accessible, rounded introduction to the first principles of the aerodynamics of helicopter flight. Simon Newman has brought this third edition completely up to date with a full new set of illustrations and imagery. An accompanying website www.wiley.com/go/seddon contains all the calculation files used in the book, problems, solutions, PPT slides and supporting MATLAB® code. Simon Newman addresses the unique considerations applicable to rotor UAVs and MAVs, and coverage of blade dynamics is expanded to include both flapping, lagging and ground resonance. New material is included on blade tip design, flow characteristics surrounding the rotor in forward flight, tail rotors, brown-out, blade sailing and shipborne operations. Concentrating on the well-known Sikorsky configuration of single main rotor with tail rotor, early chapters deal with the aerodynamics of the rotor in hover, vertical flight, forward flight and climb. Analysis of these motions is developed to the stage of obtaining the principal results for thrust, power and associated quantities. Later chapters turn to the characteristics of the overall helicopter, its performance, stability and control, and the important field of aerodynamic research is discussed, with some reference also to aerodynamic design practice. This introductory level treatment to the aerodynamics of helicopter flight will appeal to aircraft design engineers and undergraduate and graduate students in aircraft design, as well as practising engineers looking for an introduction to or refresher course on the subject.
Written by an internationally recognized teacher and researcher, this book provides a thorough, modern treatment of the aerodynamic principles of helicopters and other rotating-wing vertical lift aircraft such as tilt rotors and autogiros. The text begins with a unique technical history of helicopter flight, and then covers basic methods of rotor aerodynamic analysis, and related issues associated with the performance of the helicopter and its aerodynamic design. It goes on to cover more advanced topics in helicopter aerodynamics, including airfoil flows, unsteady aerodynamics, dynamic stall, and rotor wakes, and rotor-airframe aerodynamic interactions, with final chapters on autogiros and advanced methods of helicopter aerodynamic analysis. Extensively illustrated throughout, each chapter includes a set of homework problems. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students, practising engineers, and researchers will welcome this thoroughly revised and updated text on rotating-wing aerodynamics.
Helicopters are highly capable and useful rotating-wing aircraft with roles that encompass a variety of civilian and military applications. Their usefulness lies in their unique ability to take off and land vertically, to hover stationary relative to the ground, and to fly forward, backward, or sideways. These unique flying qualities, however, come at a high cost including complex aerodynamic problems, significant vibrations, high levels of noise, and relatively large power requirements compared to fixed-wing aircraft. This book, written by an internationally recognized expert, provides a thorough, modern treatment of the aerodynamic principles of helicopters and other rotating-wing vertical lift aircraft. Every chapter is extensively illustrated and concludes with a bibliography and homework problems. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students, practising engineers, and researchers will welcome this thorough and up-to-date text on rotating-wing aerodynamics.
The behaviour of helicopters is so complex that understanding the physical mechanisms at work in trim, stability and response, and thus the prediction of Flying Qualities, requires a framework of analytical and numerical modelling and simulation. Good Flying Qualities are vital for ensuring that mission performance is achievable with safety and, in the first edition of Helicopter Flight Dynamics, a comprehensive treatment of design criteria was presented. In this second edition, the author complements this with a new Chapter on Degraded Flying Qualities, drawing examples from flight in poor visibility, failure of control functions and encounters with severe atmospheric disturbances. Fully embracing the consequences of Degraded Flying Qualities during the design phase will contribute positively to safety. The accurate prediction and assessment of Flying Qualities draws on the modelling and simulation discipline on the one hand and testing methodologies on the other. Checking predictions in flight requires clearly defined ‘mission-task-elements’, derived from missions with realistic performance requirements. High fidelity simulations also form the basis for the design of stability and control augmentation systems, essential for conferring Level 1 Flying Qualities. The integrated description of flight dynamic modelling, simulation and flying qualities forms the subject of this book, which will be of interest to engineers in research laboratories and manufacturing industry, test pilots and flight test engineers, and as a reference for graduate and postgraduate students in aerospace engineering. The Author Gareth Padfield, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, is the Bibby Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Liverpool. He is an aeronautical engineer by training and has spent his career to date researching the theory and practice of flight for both fixed-wing aeroplanes and rotorcraft. During his years with the UK’s Royal Aircraft Establishment and Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, he conducted research into rotorcraft dynamics, handling qualities and flight control. His work has involved a mix of flight testing, creating and testing simulation models and developing analytic approximations to describe flight behaviour and handling qualities. Much of his research has been conducted in the context of international collaboration – with the Technical Co-operation Programme, AGARD and GARTEUR as well as more informal collaborations with industry, universities and research centres worldwide. He is very aware that many accomplishments, including this book, could not have been achieved without the global networking that aerospace research affords. During the last 8 years as an academic, the author has continued to develop his knowledge and understanding in flight dynamics, not only through research, but also through teaching the subject at undergraduate level; an experience that affords a new and deeper kind of learning that, hopefully, readers of this book will benefit from.
