Design of Icing Spray Rig for Helicopter Rotor Blade Test
ZHENG Li1, GUO Yuanjun1, LIU Weiguang2, FENG Kang1
1. Wuhan Aviation Instrument Corporation, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Wuhan 430074, China;2. China Helicopter Research and Development Institute, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Jingdezhen 333001, Jiangxi Province, China
Abstract:Icing on blades will seriously affect helicopter's performance, and even result in accidents endangering the safety. Icing Spray Rig(ISR) for helicopter rotor blade is a simulation system used in the test of main rotator and tail rotator of helicopter, which can artificially build cloud conditions for the icing, anti-icing and deicing tests at natural low temperature. This paper presents the components of an ISR and the corresponding principle, and analyzes the critical techniques within the rig design and applications. As a case study, an ISR is designed for the tail rotor test of a certain type of helicopter. For the design, the parameter of the system are ascertained, and the equipments and configures are determined. Based on the calibration on liquid water content and cloud particle diameter, the spray parameters adopted in course of the test are obtained. The test and the result analysis were carried out. Air atomizing nozzles were used to make fog, and it was found that 40 nozzles in 5 rows are reasonable, and the spray density and the flow distance of the cloud particles can meet the requirements of the test. The system can optimize the spray scheme effectively, and the liquid water content and the cloud particle diameter can be controlled by adjusting the water pressure (0.2-0.4 MPa), the air pressure (0.3-0.4 MPa) and the quantities of the operative nozzles (6-18). It is concluded that the experimental results are favorable. The system can work as a good reference for the future development of a large scale ISR and similar tests.