Optimization of Composite Couplings in Helicopter Rotor Blade Spar Using Hybrid Particle Swarm-Gradient Algorithm

Abstract

Modern helicopter rotor blades are made of advanced composite material due to higher stiffness/mass ratio, superior fatigue characteristic along with capability of aeroelastic tailoring. In composite materials, circumferentially uniform stiffness (CUS) and circumferentially asymmetric stiffness (CAS) layup configurations, which offer convenience in terms of production methods, are widely used in the design of fiber angles. However, it is desirable to optimize the results by examining the couplings to test better results can be achieved with effective modifications to the fibers without CUS and CAS. It is a fact that gradient-based optimization algorithms were quite popular in the years when computers had not been so powerful yet. But the nature of the gradient-based algorithms, they can provide local optimum. When the gradian based classical methods are tested, the results are the same as the CUS and CAS distributions. Also, the hybrid particle swarm-gradient algorithm by means of C#, VABS, Abaqus, MATLAB proposes better results on the composite couplings of blade spar such as extension-torsion, lead-lag torsion and flap-torsion.

Keywords

• Composite couplings,VABS cross-sectional analysis,hybrid particle swarm-gradient algorithm

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