An Investigation of the Effect of Large-Scale Turbulence on Helicopter Operations and Pilot Workload

Description

The Flight Science and Technology (FS&T) research group at the University of Liverpool has an excellent international reputation for its research into the piloted simulation of helicopters in turbulent environments. In this research, pilots conduct flying missions in the University’s full-motion flight simulator, where air turbulence imposes unsteady aerodynamic loads on the aircraft. The turbulence is associated with scenarios such as landing in windy conditions to a ship’s deck, an offshore oil/gas platform, rooftop helipads or flying through the wakes from large wind turbines. For the purposes of flight simulation, the unsteady velocities which characterise the turbulent air flow are created using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The unsteady air flow is then integrated with the helicopter flight dynamics model within the simulation to give the pilot a realistic experience of flying through turbulent air.

This PhD project will investigate how the turbulence of atmospheric winds will interact with the turbulence caused by the wakes of large structures, such as ship superstructures, offshore platforms and rooftop helipads. The objective of the research is to apply a methodology that has been developed for creating a background turbulence that is representative of atmospheric winds, and applying this methodology to complex unsteady CFD calculations of the air flow over full-scale structures (ships, platforms, buildings, etc). The research will also involve carrying out experiments to measure the turbulent flows over a model-scale structure, in either a wind or a water tunnel, and to compare these with the CFD calculations. Once created, the CFD-generated air flows over the structure will be used to create a simulation environment in which experienced pilots will conduct prescribed flying tasks to assess the fidelity of the simulation, the response of the helicopter and the difficulty of the task.

The successful applicant will be working with other experienced researchers in FS&T, and will have the opportunity to work with researchers from international agencies from the US, Canada, Australia and across Europe, as well as with helicopter manufactures and the UK Ministry of Defence.