Icing Testing in the Large Modane Wind Tunnel on a Reduced-Scale Model of a Helicopter Rotor (Giviage en Similitude d'un Rotor d'Helicoptere dans la Soufflerie)

• Main Authors: Armand,C, Charpin,F.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER N H
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1976
• Subjects: Helicopters; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Test Facilities; Equipment and Methods; *HELICOPTER ROTORS; *ICE FORMATION; *WIND TUNNEL MODELS; SCALE MODELS; AERONAUTICS; WIND TUNNEL TESTS; DEICING SYSTEMS; *Icing; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA030110; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA030110

Icing tests on full-scale models of parts of aircraft, equipped with actual de-icing systems, have been carried out in the large Modane wind tunnel of ONERA since 1962. During the last few years, ONERA has perfected and proved the technique for similitude icing testing on reduced-scale models; during the winter of 1973-74, in cooperation with the Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale (SNIAS), ONERA has extended the operating range of this wind tunnel to include helicopter rotors. Although detailed comparisons with flight tests are not now available, it appears that the variations in such parameters as lift, thrust, and moment are similar to those given by flight data. Some limitations are due to the minimum available temperature and the annual cold time; nevertheless, the total range of speeds during flight (except hovering) may be investigated without risk with this technique, with observation during the icing period of the behavior of all the parameters defining the simulated flight operation of the helicopter. (Author) Trans. of L'Aeronautique et L'Astronautique (France) n55 p19-28 1975-1976.