Assessment of CFD methods against experimental flow measurements for helicopter flows

A novel computational and experimental aerodynamic database for helicopter flows has been developed. The establishment of a validation tool for the design and development of CFD methods was the primary objective. Several flow simulations and wind tunnel tests have been carried out in a recent European research project; GoAHEAD (Generation of Advanced Helicopter Experimental Aerodynamic Database for CFD code validation). The wind-tunnel measurements have been performed at DNW wind tunnel. According to the post-test specifications, calculations for six test cases have been conducted by nine GOAHEAD project partners: three isolated fuselage tests, a low speed pitch-up case, a cruise and high speed tail shake case and highly loaded dynamic stall case. In this paper, results using different CFD methods are assessed and compared with the experimental measurements. The results include the cross-sectional steady and unsteady pressures on the fuselage and rotors, velocity contour plots and corresponding PIV flow visualisations.