Measurements of pressure distributions on a rotor blade using PSP techniques

Surface pressure distributions on a rotating blade were measured by using pressure sensitive paint (PSP) to understand aerodynamic characteristics of a rotor blade. The present study was conducted to investigate the PSP techniques for measuring the pressure distributions on a rotor blade. In order to perform the experiment, the PSP was required to response very fast due to rapid pressure fluctuations on a rotor blade. High energy excitation light source was also needed to acquire proper intensity images in a short excitation time. The techniques were based on a lifetime method. Qualitative pressure distributions on an upper surface of small scale rotor in hovering condition were measured as a preliminary experiment prior to forward flight conditions in the KARI low speed wind tunnel laboratory. From measured pressure distributions, striking pressure gradient was observed on an upper surface of rotor blade and the resulting pressure showed expected gradient depending on different collective pitch angles