Application of Numerical Bifurcation Analysis to the Prediction of Autogyro Rotor Instabilities.
D. Rezgui (Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol), B. Krauskopf (Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol), M. Lowenberg (Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol), E. Coetzee (Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol / Landing Gear Group, Airbus UK) and S. Sharma (Landing Gear Group, Airbus UK)
It has been revealed from a number of autogyro incidents that when operating at high forward speed, the autorotating rotor can become unstable in flapping, potentially leading to total loss of the aircraft. In this symposium, we present the analysis and the results of an investigation into the stability of an autorotating rotor. This investigation comprised an analytical study, using continuation and bifurcation tools, followed by practical experimentation. While the former aims at identifying qualitatively the critical parameters governing blade stability, the latter aims to assessing the fidelity of the numerical modelling as well as validating any conclusions drawn from the numerical analysis.