Description
Vicoter participated in the MANOEUVRES European project, which was part of the CleanSky 1 research program and aimed at developing an innovative approach for noise reduction in terminal helicopter maneuvers, based on in-flight measurement of rotor status. During the project, the consortium carried out the design, bench tests, installation and flight tests of a new helicopter sensor capable of measuring the attitude of the main rotor blades during the flight. The project started in October 2013 and was completed in May 2016, leading to a patent for the developed device. The patent was then transferred by the inventors to Leonardo Helicopters.
As part of this project, Vicoter's activity was mainly focused on testing the system and its sub-parts from a dynamic point of view. Specifically, Vicoter took care of the device vibration tests, both in bench conditions, applying by a shaker the acceleration spectra measured on the real helicopter and supplied by the Topic Manager, and in laboratory conditions, installing the system on an AgustaWestland A109 helicopter's mock-up. Measured data were processed by Vicoter and demonstrated the safety of the device once installed on the helicopter, allowing flight tests to be carried out. The flight tests were performed on a Leonardo AW139 helicopter.
Patent
- ROTOR FOR A HOVER-CAPABLE AIRCRAFT AND METHOD FOR DETECTING THE ATTITUDE OF A BLADE WITH RESPECT TO A HUB OF SUCH A ROTOR, European Patent Office EP3228541A1, Inventors: Redaelli M., Riviello L., Colombo A., Trainelli L., Zappa E., Rolando A., Cordisco P., Vigoni E., Terraneo M., Grassetti R.
Publications on international scientific journals:
- Zappa, E.; Liu, R.; Trainelli, L.; Rolando, A.; Cordisco, P.; Terraneo, M.; Redaelli, M., "A Vision-Based Technique for in-Flight Measurement of Helicopter Blade Motion", EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES (ISSN: 0732-8818), 2020, Vol. 44, Issue 1, pp. 1-14.
- Zappa, E.; Liu, R.; Trainelli, L.; Ferrario, A.; Cordisco, P.; Terraneo, M.; Grassetti, R.; Redaelli, M., "Laser and vision-based measurements of helicopter blade angles", MEASUREMENT (ISSN: 0263-2241), 2018, Vol. 118, pp. 29-42.
