Activities in the Rotorcraft Engineering Program involve research and development in many key areas of rotorcraft. Projects include the following:

Current

• Integrated Propulsion System Modeling
  Faculty: Wang, Smith, Bill, DeSmidt @ Univ of Tennessee, Sponsor: NASA Glenn Research Center
  
  
• Gearbox Windage Loss CFD
  Faculty: Kunz, Morris, Long, Sponsor: NASA Glenn Research
  
  
• Development and Testing of Miniature Trailing-Edge Effectors for Active Rotor Control
  Faculty: Gandi and Maughmer, Sponsor: NRTC Rotorcraft Center Task
  
  
• Innovative Overset Grid Connectivity Software for Unstructured Rotorcraft Simulations
  Faculty: Noack, Sponsor: NASA Langley Research Center, (GA Tech, prime)
  
  
• Structural Damping and Health Monitoring Enhancement via Multifunctional Carbon Nanotube Based Composites Tailoring
  Faculty: Bakis, Wang, Sponsor: Army Research Office
  
  
• Heavy-Lift Helicopter Blade Design
  Faculty: Smith, Sponsor: US Army Rotorcraft
  
  
• X-Hawk Engineering Analysis and Feasibility Study
  Faculty: Smith, McLaughlin, Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
  
  
• Airfoil Testing and Design Support
  Facutly: Maughmer, (Airfoils Inc. with Somers), Sponsor: Army Ames
  
  
• Airframe Vibration Control
  Faculty: Smith, Rahn , INVERCON. with Szefi, Sponsor: Army Ames
  
  
• Structural Health Monitoring
  Faculty: Conlon, Smith, Sponsor: Army AATD
  
  
• Nonthermal Anti-Icing
  Faculty: Rose, Smith, FBS with Royer, Sponsor: Army AATD
  
  
• Piezo Flap Actuators
  Faculty: Smith, Mockensturm , INVERCON. with Szefi, Sponsor: Army AATD
  
  
• Gear Health Monitoring
  Faculty: Mark, with Northrup/Grumman, Sponsor: DARPA
  
  
• Nastic Structures
  Faculty: Bakis,Wang, Rahn, et al, Sponsor: DARPA
  
  
• Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence
  Sponsor: US Dept of Army

Interactional Aerodynamics for Noise Prediction of Heavy Lift Configurations,
Faculty: Ken Brentner, Ganesh Rajagopalan, Lyle Long

Overset Grid/Gridless Methods for Fuselage and Rotor Wakes
Faculty: Earl Duque

Performance Improvements In The Tip/Casing Region of Ducted-Fan Systems Used In Vertical Lift Systems And UAV'S,
Faculty: Cengiz Camci

Structures and Materials Concepts for Lightweight, Composite Rotor Blades,
Faculty: Charles Bakis, Kevin Koudela, Edward Smith

Next Generation Carbon-Nanotube/Carbon-Fiber Composites for Mechanical Properties,
Faculty: Nikhil Koratkar, Linda Schadler

Rotor Blade Anti-Icing and Erosion Protection Systems,
Faculty: Edward Smith, Joseph Rose, Cenciz Camci

Flight Control Design for Rotorcraft with Variable Rotor Speed,
Faculty: Joseph Horn

Miniature Trailing-Edge Effectors (Active Gurneys) for Rotor Performance and Aeromechanics,
Faculty: Frahan Gandhi, Mark Maughmer, George Lesieutre

Prediction of Acoustic Scattering and Nonlinear Propagation for Heavy Lift Rotorcraft,
Faculty: Ken Brentner, Phillip Morris

Advanced Dynamic Modeling and Analysis of Rotorcraft Planetary Gears,
Faculty: R.G. Parker, Robert Bill

Software Engineering for Reduced Cost Avionics,
Faculty: Ronald Leach

• Naval Rotorcraft Technologies to Enhance Safety, Survivability and Performance
  Sponsor: Office of Naval Research

  Rotor Flowfield/Ship Airwake Coulpling During Shipboard DI
  Faculty: Lyle Long, Joseph Horn

  Optimal Propulsion System Design for Variable Speed Rotors
  Faculty: Edward Smith, Suren Rao, Kon-Well Wang

  Active Rotors for Enhanced Shipboard DI
  Faculty: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang, Steve Conlon

  Flight Simulation of Advanced Ducted Fan Air Vehicles
  Faculty: Joseph Horn

  Crashworthy Systems for High Mass Payload Items
  Faculty: Charles Bakis, Mike Yukish, Edward Smith

  Shape memory Alloy (SMA) Cellular honeycomb-based Crashworthy Structures
  Faculty: Farhan Gandhi

  Active Rotors for Blade Loads Control
  Faculty: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang

  Performance, Vibration and Noise Benefits of Variable-RPM Rotors
  Faculty: Farhan Gandhi

  Understanding & Predicting Ducted Fan Vehicle Performance with Experiments & CFD
  Faculty: Dennis McLaughlin, Lyle Long

  Rotor System Analysis and Optimal Design of Advanced Ducted Fan Air Vehicles
  Faculty: Edward Smith

  Aeroacoustics of Advanced Ducted Fan Air Vehicles
  Faculty: Ken Brentner

   

• Simulation and Design Methodology for Compact Active-Passive Hybrid Flow Control Devices for Minimizing Rotorcraft Loads
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith; Sponsor: NASA
  
  
• Comprehensive Modeling and Analysis of Rotorcraft Variable Speed Propulsion System with Coupled Engine/Transmission/Rotor Dynamics
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith; Sponsor: NASA
  
  
• Acoustically Tailored Helicopter Transmission Cowling
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith; Sponsor: NASA
  
  
• Devlopment and Testing of a Nonthermal Rotor Blade Anti-Icing System
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith, Joseph Rose; Sponsor: Bell Helicopter Textron
  
  
• Condition Based Maintenance Damage Detection Technology
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang, Joseph Rose, Steve Conlon; Sponsor: Center for Rotorcraft Innovation
  
  
• Multi Disciplinary Optimal Design and CFD Windage Simulation of Rotorcraft Transmission System
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang, Rob Kunz, Richard Medvitz; Sponsor: Center for Rotorcraft Innovation
  
  
• Design, System Evaluation, and Testing of Flexable Composite Driveshafts
  Faculty PI: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang, Charles Bakis, Greg Dillon; Sponsor: Center for Rotorcraft Innovation
  
  
• Wind Tunnel Testing of Three Tiltrotor Blade Airfoils
  Faculty PI: Maughmer and Somers; Sponsor: U.S. Army, Ames Research Center
  
  
• Damper Modeling
  Faculty: Smith, Lesieutre; Sponsor: Bell, LORD Corp
  
  
• Drive Systems
  Faculty: Smith, Bill; Sponsor: PURDY Corp
  
  
• Rotor Blade Anti-Icing
  Faculty: Smith, Rose; Sponsor: Bell, FBS Inc., AATD SBIR

• High Authority TEF Actuation
  Faculty: Invercon prime with Smith, Wang, Sub; Sponsor: INVERCON LLC AATD SBIR

• Flexible Composite Driveshafts I
  Faculty: Smith, Brentner, Bakis; Sponsor: Bell, Boeing, Goodrich , Kaman CRI
  
• Rotor System Damage Detection x 3
  Faculty: Conlon, Smith, Rose; Sponsor: CRI

• Shipboard Flight Simulation and Controls
  Faculty: Horn; Sponsor: Sikorsky, CRI
  
• Tiltrotor Stability Augmentation
  Faculty: Gandhi; Sponsor: Bell, CRI
  
• Low Reynolds Number, High-Lift Airfoil Design for VTOL UAVs, Phase I
  Faculty PI: Maughmer and Somers; Sponsor: U.S. Army, Ames Research Center
  
  
• Low Reynolds Number, High-Lift Airfoil Design for VTOL UAVs, Phase II
  Faculty PI: Maughmer and Somers; Sponsor: U.S. Army, Ames Research Center
  

2001 - 2005

• Unsteady, Turbulent, Separated Flow Around Helicopter Fuselages
  Faculty PI: Lyle Long, Earl Duque; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
• Unsteady, Turbulent, Separated Flow Around Helicopter Fuselages - PowerPoint Presentation
• Rotorcraft Fuselage Drag Study using OVERFLOW-D2 on a Linux Cluster - PowerPoint Presentation

• Tilrotor Aeromechanical Stability Analysis
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith; Sponsor: Bell Helicopter

• Experimental and Computational Instrumentation for Rotorcraft at the Penn State Rotorcraft Center
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith, Lyle Long, Joseph Horn, Kenneth Brentner, Cengiz Camci; Sponsor: U.S. Department of the Army

• Data Fusion for Rotorcraft Health Monitoring Systems
  Faculty PI: Karl Reichard; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • Data Fusion for Rotorcraft Health Monitoring Systems - PowerPoint Presentation

• Acquisition of Advanced Parallel Computational and Graphical Facilities
  Faculty PIs: Lyle Long; Sponsor: National Science Foundation

• Active Tiltrotor Aeroelastic and Aeromechanical Stability Augmentation
  Faculty PI: Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
• Active Tiltrotor Aeroelastic and Aeromechanical Stability Augmentation - PowerPoint Presentation

• Active Control of Rotorcraft Noise and Vibration
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith, Lyle Long, Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: University of Maryland

• Passive and Semi-Active Reduction of Gearbox Vibration and Noise
  Faculty PI: George Lesieutre, Edward Smith, William Mark; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
• Rotorcraft Gear Optimization for Minimization of Vibration Excitation - PowerPoint Presentation
• Passive and Semi-Active Reduction of Gearbox Vibration and Noise - PowerPoint Presentation

• Demonstration of Low Cost Advanced Parallel Computers to Large Scale Particle Simulations Methods
  Faculty PI: Kenneth Brentner, Deborah Levin, and Michael Micci; Sponsor: U.S. Department of Army

• The Development of Aeroacoustic Modules for the CD Adapco Group
  Faculty PI: Philip Morris, Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: CD Adapco Group

• Carefree Maneuvering Control Laws for Rotorcraft
  Faculty PI: Joseph Horn; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
• Carefree Maneuvering Control Laws for Rotorcraft - PowerPoint Presentation

• Training for Use of the Simulation of the Transient Analysis of Rotorcraft Startups and Shutdowns Program
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith; Sponsor: U.S. Navy

• Tendon-Actuated Compliant Cellular Truss: Controlled Conformity in 3-D Shape-Changing Structures
  Faculty PI: George Lesieutre, Mary Frecker; Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• Simulation/Control of Helicopter Shipboard Launch/Recovery
  Faculty PI: Joseph Horn; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • Simulation and Control of Shipboard Launch and Recovery Operations - PowerPoint Presentation

• Maneuver and High-Speed Rotor Acoustic Analysis Development
  Faculty PIs: Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: National Aeronautics & Space Administration

• Optimization and Design of Advanced Low-Weight Rotor System
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith; Sponsor: National Aeronautics & Space Administration

• Elastomeric Tuned Mass Dampers for Lag Damping
  Faculty PIs: George Lesieutre, Edward Smith; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA) and Lord Corporation
  • Helicopter Blade Lag Damping Using Embedded Inertial Dampers - PowerPoint Presentation

• Composite Blade Modeling and Aeroelastic Analysis
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith; Sponsor: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Development of Modifications to the ASDE X Antenna to Minimize Excessive Vibration and Noise
  Faculty PIs: Dennis McLaughlin, Kenneth Brentner, Cengiz Camci; Sponsor: Trios Associates, Inc.

• Modeling of Rotorcraft Noise in Maneuvering Flight
  Faculty PI: Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • Modeling of Rotorcraft Noise in Maneuvering Flight - PowerPoint Presentation

• Aeroacoustics of Wind Turbines
  Faculty PIs:Kenneth Brentner, Lyle Long, Philip Morris; Sponsor: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• Flexible Rotorcraft Driveshafts using Flexible Matrix Composites and Active Bearing Control
  Faculty PIs: Kon-Well Wang, Charles Bakis, Edward Smith; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • High Flexibility Rotorcraft Driveshafts using Flexible Matrix Composites and Active Bearing Control - PowerPoint Presentation

• A Component-Based Method for the Prediction of Noise from Landing Gear
  Faculty PIs: Philip Morris, Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: National Aeronautics & Space Administration Langley Research Center

• Development of a Smart Materials Based Actively Conformable Rotor Airfoil
  Faculty PIs: Mary Frecker, Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • Development of a Smart Materials Based Actively Conformable Rotor Airfoil - PowerPoint Presentation

• Flight Control Design for Future Generation Compound Rotorcraft
  Faculty PIs: Joseph Horn; Sponsor: Piasecki Aircraft Corporation

• Advanced Analysis, Design, and Experimental Testing of Hybrid Active-Passive Rotor Systems for Vibration Reduction and Performance Enhancement
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith, Kon-Well Wang, Mark Maughmer, George Lesieutre; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
  • Hybrid Active-Passive Rotor Systems for Vibration and Performance - PowerPoint Presentation
• Miniature Trailing Edge Effectors For Rotorcraft Applications - PowerPoint Presentation

• Acquisition of Vibration Reality and Visualization Facilities for Advanced Scientific and Engineering Computation
  Faculty PIs: Lyle Long; Sponsor: National Science Foundation
  
  
• Rotary-Wing Unmanned Air Vehicles
  Faculty PIs: Lyle Long, Joseph Horn; Sponsor: NRTC (Army & NASA)
• Semi-Autonomous Hand-Launched Rotary-Wing Unmanned Air Vehicles - PowerPoint Presentation

• Pennsylvania State Consortium for Education in Many-Body Applications
  Faculty PIs: Lyle Long, James Anderson, Jayanth Banavar, Wenwu Cao, Kristen Fichthorn, Jain Jainendra, Sanat Kumar, Ken Merz Jr., and Paul Plassmann; Sponsor: National Science Foundation
  
  
• Design Technology for Quiet UAV Propellers
  Faculty PIs: Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: SBIR Phase I for Naval Surface Warfare Center

• Demonstration of Low Cost Advanced Parallel Computers to Large-Scale Particle Simulations Methods
  Faculty PIs: Kenneth Brentner, Deborah Levin, and Michael Micci; Sponsor: Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) and Ballistic Missile Defense Organization

• Application of Low Cost Advanced Parallel Computers to Large-Scale Particle Simulations Methods
  Faculty PIs: Kenneth Brentner; Sponsor: Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) and Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
  
  
• Active Vibration Control of a Coupled Tailboom-Driveshaft Structure
  Faculty PIs: Edward Smith, and Kon-Well Wang; Sponsor: NASA Glenn Research Center

1996 - 2000

• Simultaneous Active-Passive Hybrid Design of Rotorcraft Active Control Systems
  Faculty PIs: Kon-Well Wang, Ed Smith; Sponsor: NRTC
  • Rotor Stability Augmentation via Semi-Active and Active-Passive Hybrid Actuation Systems PowerPoint Presentation

• Characterization, Modeling, & Aeromechanical Analysis for Rotorcraft with Elastomeric Dampers & Bearings
  Faculty PIs: George Lesieutre, Ed Smith, Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: NRTC Rotorcraft Center, Boeing, UTRC, Lord
  • Characterization, Modeling, and Aeromechanical Analysis for Rotorcraft with Elastomeric Dampers and Bearings PowerPoint Presentation
  • The Influence of Low-Strain Amplitude, Temperature and Precompression on the Dynamic Behavior of Elastic Damper Materials PowerPoint Presentation

• Adaptive High Damping Flexbeams for Enhanced Rotorcraft Stability Augmentation
  Faculty PIs: Kon-Well Wang, Farhan Gandhi; Sponsors: NRTC Rotorcraft Center, Sikorsky

• Analysis and Operational Procedures for Safe Transient Rotor Engage and Disengage Envelopes
  Faculty PIs: Ed Smith, Lyle Long, Sponsor: NRTC
  • Analysis and Operational Procedures for Safe Rotor Engage and Disengage Envelopes PowerPoint Presentation
  • Recent Developments in the Analysis and Experimental Testing for Transient Rotor Engage and Disengage Operations PowerPoint Presentation

• Adaptive MR Fluid Lag Dampers for Improved Rotorcraft Stability Augmentation
  Faculty PIs: Farhan Gandhi, Kon-Well Wang; Sponsor: NRTC Rotorcraft Center
  • Adaptive MR Fluid Lag Dampers for Improved Rotorcraft Stability Augmentation PowerPoint Presentation

• Low Noise Transmission Active Composite Fuselage Panels for Cabin Noise Reduction
  Faculty PIs: Gary Koopmann; Sponsor: NRTC
  • Active Control of Cabin Noise PowerPoint Presentation

• Development of a Smart Steerable Antennae for Wireless Rotor Control, Sensing, and Anti-Icing Systems
  Faculty PIs: Vasundara Varadan, Vijay Varadan; Sponsor: NRTC
  • Development of a Smart Steerable Antennae for Wireless Rotor Control, Sensing, and Anti-Icing Systems PowerPoint Presentation

• Active Control of Driveshaft-Airframe Vibration
  Faculty PIs: Kon-Well Wang, Ed Smith; Sponsor: ARO-MURI
  • Active Control of Driveshaft-Airframe Dynamics PowerPoint Presentation

• Aeromechanical Analysis for Soft-Inplane Tailored Composite Tiltrotors
  Faculty PI: Ed Smith; Sponsor: NASA LaRC
  • Aeromechanical Analysis of Elastically Tailored, Soft-Inplane Composite Tiltrotor Blades PowerPoint Presentation

• Modeling of Acoustic Scattering from Rotorcraft Airframes
  Faculty PI: Philip Morris; Sponsor: NASA LaRC

• Computational and Experimental Investigation of Air Vehicle Aeromechanics During Shipboard Dynamic Interface Operations
  Faculty PIs: Ed Smith, Lyle Long; Sponsor: ONR
  • Analysis and Operational Procedures for Safe Rotor Engage and Disengage Envelopes PowerPoint Presentation
  • Recent Developments in the Analysis and Experimental Testing for Transient Rotor Engage and Disengage Operations PowerPoint Presentation

• Simulation and Analysis of Coupled Rotor-Drivetrain Failure and Fault Signatures
  Faculty PI: Ed Smith; Sponsor: ONR-MURI

• Active Aeromechanical Stability Augmentation Using Fuselage State Feedback
  Faculty PI: Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: UTRC/RITA
  • Active Aeromechanical Stability Augmentation Using Fuselage State Feedback PowerPoint Presentation

• Optimized Aeroelastic Couplings for Aeromechanical Stability Augmentation
  Faculty PI: Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: Army Research Office
  • Optimized Aeroelastic Couplings for Alleviation of Helicopter Ground Resonance PowerPoint Presentation

• Interior Noise Control Using Smart Wallpaper
  Faculty PIs: Vasundara Varadan, Vijay Varadan; Sponsor: Army Research Office

• Smart Conformal MEMS-Based Sensors
  Faculty PIs: Vasundara Varadan, Vijay Varadan; Sponsor: Army Research Office

• Rotor Design and Control for Blade Vortex Interaction
  Faculty PI: Farhan Gandhi; Sponsor: Army Research Office
  • Rotor Design and Control for Blade Vortex Interaction PowerPoint Presentation

• Computational Aeroacoustics and Wake Modeling Using Parallel Computers
  Faculty PI: Lyle Long; Sponsor: Army Research Office
  • Higher Order Accurate Solutions of Ship Airwake Flow Field Using Parallel Computers PowerPoint Presentation

• Vibration, Stability, and Transient Response of Helicopters with Elastically Tailored Composite Rotor Blades Faculty PI: Ed Smith; Sponsor: Army Research Office, DoD, Graduate Researcher: Matthew William Floros
  • Finite Element Modeling of Open-Section Composite Beams with Warping Restraint Effects PowerPoint Presentation

• Health Monitoring of Helicopter Rotor Systems
  Faculty PI: Mark J. Schulz, Ahmad S. Naser; Structural Dynamics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical, North Carolina A + T State University
  • Health Monitoring of Helicopter Rotor Systems