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Descriptions:
For a helicopter, "autorotation" refers to the descending maneuver in which the engine is disengaged from the main rotor system and the rotor blades are driven solely by the upward flow of air through the rotor. The freewheeling unit is a special clutch mechanism that disengages anytime the engine rotational speed is less than the rotor rotational speed. If the engine fails, the freewheeling unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor allowing the main rotor to rotate freely.
During vertical autorotation, the rotor disc is divided into three regions—the driven region, the driving region, and the stall region. The size of these regions vary with the blade pitch, rate of descent, and rotor rotational speed. When changing autorotative rotational speed, blade pitch, or rate of descent, the size of the regions change in relation to each other.
The driven region, also called the propeller region, is the region at the end of the blades. Normally, it consists of about 30 percent of the radius. It is the driven region that produces the most drag. The overall result is a deceleration in the rotation of the blade.
The driving region, or autorotative region, normally lies between 25 and 70 percent of the blade radius, which produces the forces needed to turn the blades during autorotation. Total aerodynamic force in the driving region is inclined slightly forward of the axis of rotation, producing a continual acceleration force. This inclination supplies thrust, which tends to accelerate the rotation of the blade. Driving region size varies with blade pitch setting, rate of descent, and rotor rotational speed.
The inner 25 percent of the rotor blade is referred to as the stall region and operates above its maximum angle of attack (stall angle) causing drag, which slows rotation of the blade. A constant rotor rotational speed is achieved by adjusting the collective pitch so blade acceleration forces from the driving region are balanced with the deceleration forces from the driven and stall regions.
By controlling the size of the driving region, the pilot can adjust autorotative rotational speed. For example, if the collective pitch is raised, the pitch angle increases in all regions. This causes the point of equilibrium to move inboard along the blade’s span, thereby increasing the size of the driven region. The stall region also becomes larger while the driving region becomes smaller. Reducing the size of the driving region causes the acceleration force of the driving region and rotational speed to decrease.
EC120B Colibri
The most common reason for autorotation is an engine malfunction or failure, but autorotation can also be performed in the event of a complete tail rotor failure, or following loss of tail-rotor effectiveness,[7] since there is virtually no torque produced in an autorotation. If altitude permits, autorotations may also be used to recover from vortex ring state.[2] In all cases, a successful landing depends on the helicopter’s height and velocity at the commencement of autorotation (see height-velocity diagram).
At the instant of engine failure, the main rotor blades are producing lift and thrust from their angle of attack and velocity. By immediately lowering collective pitch, which must be done in case of an engine failure, the pilot reduces lift and drag and the helicopter begins an immediate descent, producing an upward flow of air through the rotor system. This upward flow of air through the rotor provides sufficient thrust to maintain rotor rotational speed throughout the descent. Since the tail rotor is driven by the main rotor transmission during autorotation, heading control is maintained as in normal flight.
PH-ECD Heli Holland EC120B Colibri Eurocopter Lelystad Airport Vliegveld Lelystad
