Hub loads analysis of the SA349/2 helicopter

The forces and moments at the rotor hub of an Aerospatiale SA349/2 helicopter were investigated. The study included three main topics. First, measured hub forces and moments for a range of level flight conditions (mu = 0.14 to 0.37) were compared with predictions from a comprehensive rotorcraft analysis to examine the influence of the wake model on the correlations. Second, the effect of changing the blade mass distribution and blade chordwise center of gravity location on the 3/rev nonrotating frame hub loads was studied for a high-speed flight condition (mu = 0.37). Third, the use of higher harmonic control to reduce nonrotating frame 3/rev hub shear forces was investigated. The last two topics were theoretical studies only