Final Report of the Center of Excellence in Rotary Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Abstract : The activities associated with establishing a Center of Excellence in Rotary Wing Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute under a five year contract with the U.S. Army Research Office are reported here. These include measures taken to provide comprehensive and in-depth curricula at advanced levels in rotorcraft technology; attract and retain outstanding young people in these programs; perform basic research at the leading edge of technology in structures, structural dynamics, unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelasticity disciplines as applied to rotorcraft; developing useful new national research resources in these areas; and accomplishing technology transfer to the rotorcraft community beyond the Rensselaer campus. Descriptions, references and statistics are provided to allow assessment of the extent to which these goals have been realized. Keywords: Laminated plates, Composite materials, Helicopters, Rotorcraft, Aeronautical engineering education.