Composite Materials and Helicopter Rotor Blades

History

French Gendarmerie rescue helicopter taking off on the Massif du Sancy mountains, France*

Since the very earliest concepts of rotor-powered aircraft the design and manufacture of helicopters has
been greatly developed and refined. In addition to the increased knowledge of the aerodynamics of flight
and the avionics of aircraft, one extremely important factor in the advancement of the design, production
and performance of helicopters is the use of composite materials. With their great versatility and desirable
properties such materials can be found in numerous layers of a helicopter.
From the seats and the engine bay door to the fuselage and the tailplane, composites form an integral part
of helicopters and their design. However, the component whose performance and service-life has perhaps
benefited most significantly from the use of these materials is the rotor blade. A typical cross-section of this
component is illustrated in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

Helicopter rotor blades were originally constructed of laminated wood and fabric; this design was retained
until the 1960s, when the first steel and aluminium structures were introduced. These metal blades were a
huge improvement on previous designs, amongst whose problems was mass alteration due to moisture
absorption. However, despite this and other benefits, such as cheapness and ease of manufacture, steel
and aluminium blades suffered from various design and structural problems.
The most critical of these were poor fatigue resistance, and low strength-to-density ratios. These problems,
together with many other design drawbacks were hugely reduced by the use of composite materials for
rotor blade construction.

Science
Composite Materials

Radical advancement in rotor blade design was made possible due to the structure and basic
ingredients of composite materials, for example, glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP). These consist
of glass fibres dispersed within a polymeric matrix, both of which determine the properties and
characteristics of the resulting material. The matrix has several functions, the first being to bind the fibres
together, allowing any external stresses to be conveyed and distributed to them. In addition, being ductile,
relatively soft and with quite a high plasticity, the matrix is able to play its second role to prevent crack

propagation between fibres.

The fibres themselves have their own characteristics. They are produced by means of drawing continuous
fibres, and are readily available at low cost. Their strength and chemical inertness also make them highly
desirable for use in rotor blades.

Figure 2

Thus, composite materials such as GFRPs, offer many advantages over metals, including lightness, ease of
manufacture, relative cheapness and strength. GFRPs do, however, have one major drawback; they lack
stiffness, a vital property required of helicopter rotor blades. The solution to this problem lies in another
variety of composite material called carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The high strength constituent
fibres used in these materials are manufactured from polyacrylonitrile (PAN), pitch and rayon, and as a
result have the highest specific modulus1 of all reinforcing fibre materials.
However, as is the case with GFRPs, these properties are dependent on fibre direction, since such sheets
are anisotropic2. To overcome this, sheets of fibre reinforced material are sandwiched together alternately
at right-angles, as shown in figure 2.
Thus, such composite materials can be tailored in such a way as to display desired properties in specific
directions and areas.
1. Specific Modulus gives an indication of a materials stiffness for a given mass or density of the material.
A high stiffness/low density is very desirable in aerospace applications, for weight-saving.
2. Anisotropy implies a materials physical properties are directionally dependent.

Rotor Blade Case Study

Rotor blades are subjected to extremely harsh conditions, both operational and environmental. Rotational
tip velocities of approximately 200 m/s (~480mph), and "flapping" during flight, are coupled with extremes in
both humidity and temperature. The latter can vary from -40C to +90C. So, a number of specific
material properties are required for efficient and effective rotor blades. Composites can be made that fulfil
these property requirements.

Figure 3 (click the picture to enlarge)

The manufacture of rotor blades begins with the ultrasonic profiling of partially cured fibre reinforced plastics
known as pre-pregs, which allows the production of advanced shaped and sectioned blades. Such
components are virtually impossible to fabricate economically from metal. The contoured pre-pregs are then
positioned, using a specific 'lay-up' pattern, within a mould. This is then closed, crushing the material into
the desired shape and form, and an external hydraulic pressure is applied. Curing is completed by means of
a computer-controlled process, during which the pressure is maintained and the temperature slowly
increased to 125C. Finally, the blade construction is finished with the SIMPLE adhesion of the
honeycomb core between the two constituent blade layers, which are illustrated in figure 3.
Many other desirable properties and characteristics are achieved by the use of composites, including good
strength-to-density ratios, which are four to six times greater than those of steel or aluminium. The specific
modulus of certain composites is also far greater than those of steel and aluminium, leading to composite
blades that are up to 45% lighter than their metal equivalents. In addition, complex blades are much easier
to process and manufacture, are joined with adhesives, negating the need for riveting and simplifying
assembly and can be produced using much cheaper tooling than for metals.
Developments in composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic have allowed the creation of
rotor blades that far surpass their predecessors in every way, and continued research into new areas of
Materials Science will no doubt improve on these blades in the future.