Prof. Benjamin Woods

Shape Adaptive Blades for Rotorcraft Efficiency

University of Bristol

This talk will overview the recently completed Horizon 2020 project Shape Adaptive Blades for Rotorcraft Efficiency – SABRE. SABRE brought together more than 30 researchers from 6 institutions across Europe for a 4 year long research program which investigated the ability of morphing helicopter blades to reduce greenhouse gas and noise emissions. A dual stream research program sought to answer the two tightly coupled questions of “what is the best way to morph a rotor to reduce emissions” and “what shape changes can the morphing technologies realistically achieve”. Six different morphing technologies were studied, and key results from the comprehensive rotor analysis and technology development work will be shown. An experimental test campaign culminated in wind tunnel and whirl tower testing of the concepts to show their performance under aerodynamic and centrifugal loads. SABRE showed the promise these concepts have for tackling emissions, with predicted reductions in fuel burn of 4% – 10% depending on flight phase.