Visualizing Fundamental Concepts Taught in Helicopter Dynamics Course Using Matlab Simscape GUI Program

Students taking traditional undergraduate level engineering courses not only struggle with highly complex concepts but also struggle in linking the physical meaning of the derived mathematical equations. In this study, we developed a standalone and user-friendly Matlab Simscape Graphical User Interface (GUI) program to visualize the concepts presented in the undergraduate level helicopter dynamics course. The developed GUI program enables students to change the parameters of the blade including the rotor radius, blade chord, type of airfoil, material properties, the weight of the aircraft and analyze the effect of the parameter on the performance of the helicopter rotor. The program uses motion dynamics to simulate the blade movement in hover and forward flight. The Simspace GUI program is composed of four modules starting with a simplistic beam model. In the first module, the blade is considered as a simple cantilever beam where an input point load is applied at the tip of the blade either vertically down or at an angle. In the second module, the force is replaced by a radially distributed load that simulates lift distribution along the span of the blade. In the third module, the distributed load is applied to various types of airfoils ranging from symmetrical NACA airfoil to supercritical airfoils. In the fourth model, the sectional velocities vary as a function of azimuth, and the forward-moving rotor is simulated.