Rotor active stability control
OwnerJoseph John Andrewsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for stabilizing a motion of a rotor blade of a rotor comprising the steps: read into a controller, a measurement from a sensor responsive to said rotor blade; determine an out-of-compliance motion of the rotor blade; and output a first control signal to an actuator affecting the rotor blade such that a vibration mode of said rotor blade is dampened. The damping may be achieved by changing the drag, lift or torsion of the rotor blade. The out-of-compliance motion may be a lead, lag, upward motion, downward motion or twist of the rotor blade away from a nominal value.
Claims20
A method for stabilizing a motion of a single rotor blade of a rotor comprising the steps:
- a) read into a controller, a measurement from a sensor located on or directly measuring said rotor blade, said measurement being of a motion of said rotor blade;
- b) determine, by said controller, a non-stable out-of-compliance motion of said rotor blade, said non-stable out-of-compliance motion of said rotor blade being a difference between said measured motion of said rotor blade and a stable nominal motion of said rotor blade;
- and
- c) output, from said controller, a first control signal to an actuator affecting said rotor blade
- wherein:
- d) said first control signal is determined by a control algorithm executed by said controller;
- e) said actuator causes a change in one or more of a drag, lift or torsion of said rotor blade counter to said non-stable out-of-compliance motion of said rotor blade and to stabilize said rotor blade;
- and
- f) said non-stable out-of-compliance motion of said rotor blade is determined by all of the following:
- i) measuring an upward motion of said rotor blade above said stable nominal motion of said rotor blade;
- ii) measuring a downward motion of said rotor blade below said stable nominal motion of said rotor blade;
- and
- iii) measuring a twist of said rotor blade away from said stable nominal motion of said rotor blade.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.