Fundamental Investigation of Proprotor and Wing Interactions in Tiltrotor AIrcraft

Rotor/wing interactions in tiltrotor aircraft are complex in nature. Using an XV-15 rotor on a full-span wing with a symmetric NACA 0023 airfoil section, the mechanisms of rotor/wing interactions are investigated for a tiltrotor aircraft cruising at 220 knots. Numerical computations are performed using HPCMP CREATE™-AV Helios code. Due to the rotor/wing interference, rotor and wing loadings display a 3-per-rev harmonic response. The mean rotor thrust and power are influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the rotor thrust increases 12.7 percent and the rotor power increases 8.1 percent, most of which is due to wing thickness interference. The mean wing lift and drag are also influenced by the interference. Due to the interference, the wing lift increases 0.7 percent and the wing drag reduces 21.9 percent. These interference effects are confined to the high speed tiltrotor airplane mode.