U.S. Army Rotorcraft Research at Ames: New Frontier in Dynamics and Aeroelasticity

This paper presents an informal narrative of rotorcraft structural dynamics and aeroelasticity research initiated by the U.S. Army at NASA Ames Research Center in the early 1970s, when rotorcraft research became something of a new frontier in aerospace. The paper is focused on research conducted by Dewey Hodges and the authors, and it is based on a paper given as a tribute for the Dewey70 Session of the 2018 AIAA SciTech Forum. This rotorcraft research contributed a rigorous theoretical foundation that helped transform rotorcraft analysis from uncertainty into today’s sophisticated methodology that provides a sound basis for modern rotorcraft design. Dewey Hodges was arguably one of the principal architects of this transformation. Selected material is presented on the development of nonlinear beam theory for rotor blades, applications to rotorcraft aeroelastic stability, and experimental validation studies. The paper concludes by showing how these methods have been linked with today’s modern rotorcraft co...