Read more
Balancing remains a precarious aspect for any rotating component in terms of stability, control and safety. The helicopter tail rotor often yields pre-eminent frequency vibration due to its lofty operational speed. As a matter of fact, vibration remains one of the main trepidations as it can lead to structural failure and low handling quality owing to the yawing motion from the tail rotor. This is greatly dependent on the imbalance of the helicopter tail rotor which is predominantly caused by the uneven distribution of weight of the blades. Generally, imbalance is adjusted by weight, pitch control rod and trim tab. Furthermore, the rotor blade defects can also cause the rotor to go out of track. Therefore, tracking and balancing must be performed in order to ensure the blades are appropriately balanced and tracked. Along these lines, in order to manage the vibration, it is of the essence to understand the effect of tail rotor speed and blade pitching on boom vibration of a helicopter.
About the author
Ziad Bin Abdul Awal in an Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineer primarily specializing in Rotorcraft Technology, Engineering Materials and Aerodynamics. He received his Bachelor and Master Degree from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). His research area includes Complex Gyrating Flow Aerodynamics, Micro UAV Design and Vehicular Structure Analysis.
