Periodic Wave Disc Brake Rotor

Rotor noise and vibration are two sources of operational challenges for all aircraft operating with open rotors such as helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), urban air mobility personal air vehicles, drones, and aircraft operating with ducted fans such as passenger aircraft. One disadvantage of convention rotor design is the noise due to noise-induced shed vortices generated by rotor blades. The unique problem with rotor noise and vibration is the periodic blade passage that causes a harmonic reinforcement and causes the rotor blades to vibrate and generate noise sources. This technology from NASA Ames seeks to optimize the implementation of anti-phase trailing edge designs and asymmetric blade tip treatments for rotor noise suppression and integrated aircraft noise solutions by incorporating the anti-phase rotor design concepts into an aircraft flight control system to reduce noise footprint. There are several embodiments of the invention, which include the following: (1) an anti-phase trailing edge design whereby the trailing edge pattern of the leading rotor blade is offset by a phase shift from the trailing edge pattern of the following blade; (2) an anti-phase rotor design implementing asymmetric blade tips with inverted airfoil; and (3) other anti-phase enabled concepts such as unequal blade length, ducted rotors with non-radial unequally spaced struts, and multi-axis tilt rotor design incorporating the anti-phase rotor design.

Vibration problems, which occur more frequently in high power to weight machines, often lead to costly down time, subsequent redesign, and, in some instances, catastrophic failure. A disproportionate number of vibration problems in rotating machinery can be attributed to highly pre-swirled fluid entering tight clearance locations such as seals and fluid bearings. The relationship between high fluid pre-swirl and undesirable vibration issues is clear. Machines with high levels of fluid pre-swirl are more susceptible to instabilities and vibration problems. A top priority in rotor dynamic design, therefore, is to develop devices to minimize the level of fluid pre-swirl entering tight clearance locations. The RVR was designed to condition the flow prior to entering the seal (or axial flow fluid-film bearing) so that the flow through the annular clearance is at a minimum purely axial. While conventional swirl brakes have only been shown to reduce pre-swirl by up to 30%, the RVR can actually reverse the direction of the swirl, so that circumferential fluid velocity flows in a direction counter to shaft rotation. Thus, a classic detriment to rotating machinery has now become an asset to ameliorate vibration issues through the RVR. The RVR is axially efficient, typically increasing the axial length of a smooth annular seal on the order of 10-12%. The RVR has been extensively tested and is now in use at NASA.

Noise produced by multirotor vehicles may be objectionable to some, especially as industry moves toward drone deliveries and potentially air taxi operations. However, noise reductions can now be attained by synchronizing the rotation rate and then controlling the phase offset between neighboring rotors. The optimal phase offset is uniquely defined based on the number of blades and the relative location of each rotor and does not depend on the rotation rate, blade geometry, or other aspects of the vehicle design. This technology is not viable for all multirotor aircraft but is applicable if the rotation rate of neighboring rotors can be synchronized mechanically or electronically.

Additive manufacturing methods (e.g. Laser Metal Sintering) are used to integrally fabricate a tuned-mass vibration absorber inside a turbine blade. The design approach uses an internal column manufactured as part of the blade that is optimized such that the dynamics of the blade damper system are rearranged and reduced according to the well-known science of tuned mass-absorption (TMA). The TMA concept has been implemented successfully in applications ranging from skyscrapers to liquid oxygen tanks for space vehicles. Indeed, this theory has been conceptually applied to bladed-disk vibration, but a practical design has not previously been reported. The NASA innovation addresses another important challenge for turbine blade vibration damper designs. All existing blade damper solutions are essentially incapable of being reliably predicted, so an expensive post-design test program must be performed to validate the expected response. Even then, the actual magnitude of the response reduction under actual hot fire conditions may never be known. The dynamic response of this tuned-mass-absorber design is both substantial and can be analytically predicted with high confidence, and thus the response can be incorporated fully into the up-front design process.

Derived from a design approach for a new wing known as PRANDTL-D, this technology achieves similar improvements for propellers and other rotating machinery. How It Works To achieve the innovation's alternate spanload, Armstrong designers applied a non-linear twist to the propeller blade. The twist moves the load inward and dissipates the tip vortex over a wider area, minimizing its effect on drag. It also results in a decrease in load at the tip and reduced torque at the tip. These changes combine to achieve a dramatic reduction in power consumption without compromising the blade's other parameters. Specifically, the blade's diameter and rpm remain unchanged. What Makes It Better Unlike the conventional minimum induced loss (elliptical) spanload, which consumes large amounts of power at the tip of the blade, the new design unloads the tip and reduces torque, achieving significant improvements in efficiency. First-order analysis shows a more than 15 percent improvement in power consumption while producing the same thrust. The design also produces significantly less noise than conventional blade designs.