Cyclic Control Optimization for a Smart Rotor

The paper presents a method to determine cyclic control trajectories for a smart rotor undergoing periodic-deterministic load variations. The control trajectories result from a constrained optimization problem, where the cost function to minimize is given by the variation of the blade root flapwise bending moment within a rotor revolution.

The method is applied to a rotor equipped with trailing edge flaps, and capable of individual blade pitching. Results show that the optimized cyclic control significantly alleviates the load variations from periodic disturbances; the combination of both cyclic flap and pitch allows to reduce the action (and hence the wear) on the pitch actuators, and still to achieve considerable load alleviation.