An Investigation of the Effect on Aerodynamic Forces Caused by the Addition of End Plates to Helicopter Rotor Blades.

摘要

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects on lift, drag, and thrust produced by a helicopter rotor after installing end plates on the blades. Fixed wing end plate theory was applied in a modified form to rotor blade calculations to investigate correlation. The results indicate that end plate factors are not satisfactory analytic tools for rotor blade calculations. End plates do increase the effective rotor radius and increase the lift at a given angle of attack and RPM; however, there are heavy penalties in power required.