ADVANCED ROTORCRAFT TECHNOLOGY, INC. — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: N15A-T009

Description

Towing of a Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) system is an important aspect of rotorcraft <br>maritime operation in support of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). The vibratory rotary wing <br>platform combined with the long and flexible towing cable, the low mass ratio of the <br>towed body to the total mass (the sum of the tow body and the towing aircraft), and the <br>rotor downwash impingement on the towed body during deployment presents a challenging <br>task for integration of a modern towed MAD system on USN airborne ASW platforms. Phase I <br>of the proposed research emphasizes towing simulation methodology research and <br>development. Phase I will also carry out a full flight simulation with a towed body to <br>demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed simulation method. Overall, Phase I will <br>accomplish (1) the development of a high fidelity aircraft simulation model for <br>accurately capturing both the steady state performance and the vibratory characteristics <br>of the towing operation; (2) the development of a state-of-the-art model for the <br>interference of the towing aircraft rotor wake on the towed body; (3) the development of <br>high fidelity dynamics and aerodynamics modelling of the towing system including the <br>towing cable, the towed body, and the cable attachment device; (4) the performance of a <br>full flight simulation with the integrated towing aircraft and towing system; (5) the <br>performance of initial parametric studies to investigate the towed body aerodynamic and <br>dynamic characteristics including the effects of body geometry, size, mass/inertia/CG, <br>aerodynamic stabilizing surfaces, etc.