Helios visualization of rotor vortices
Increasing helicopter hover thrust performance normally trades-off with forward-flight performance. Army AMRDEC/AED and Boeing used HPCMP CREATETM-AV Helios software and three million CPU-hours on DSRC supercomputing hardware to confirm Boeing’s predictions of improved and isolated rotor performance and then, for the first time, verified computationally the integrated rotor/rotor and rotor/fuselage interactional aerodynamics and installed performance of the new rotors.
HPCMP CREATETM Helios Software and HPCMP computer resources enabled:
- Virtual testing of the integrated CH-47F with new rotor via high fidelity analysis early in the design process, including aft pylon height and blade indexing.
- Flight test planning in advance of scheduled test events.
HPCMP CREATETM software and expertise and HPCMP computer resources enabled early design stage predictions of helicopter performance that project up to an estimated 2,000 pounds improved hover thrust for 400+ Chinooks, without significant impact of forward-flight performance. This added lift capacity translates into nearly 5,000 more M-16 rounds, days of food and water, or more troops on each flight.
If confirmed with flight tests early in 2015, the new rotor blade will enable approximately 400 modified CH-47Fs to deliver more troops and equipment with each flight, without increased risk in hostile and demanding environments.