Helicopter rotor lag damping augmentation based on a radial absorber and Coriolis coupling

A radial vibration absorber is proposed to augment rotor lag damping. Modeled as a discrete mass restrained by a damped spring and moving along the spanwise direction within the rotor blade, it introduces damping into the lag mode of the blade through strong Coriolis coupling. A two-degree-of-freedom model is developed and used to examine the effectiveness of the radial absorber in transferring damping to the rotor lag mode. Results demonstrate that it is possible to introduce a significant amount of damping in the lag mode with a relatively small absorber mass, and the corresponding amplitudes of 1/rev periodic motions are not excessively large. The lag mode damping and 1/rev motions are also compared with the results achieved for an embedded chordwise inertial damper. A classical six-degree-of-freedom aeromechanical stability analysis is augmented with two absorber cyclic degrees of freedom in the nonrotating frame to examine the effect of the radial absorber on aeromechanical stability characteristics. These results indicate that ground resonance instability is eliminated for the range of absorber parameters considered, and in most cases, the stability margins are significant. A rotor blade with a discrete radial vibration absorber is also analyzed to examine the effect of the absorber on rotor blade and hub loads. The rotor blade is modeled as an elastic beam undergoing flap and lag bending, with the absorber modeled as a discrete mass restrained by a damped spring, moving in the spanwise direction within the rotor blade. Results indicate that the addition of the absorber does not detrimentally affect the blade spanwise and root loads, as well as steady and vibratory hub loads. Finally, device concepts and implementation possibilities are considered for the embedded radial vibration absorber.