Development of a FE² Multiscale Framework for Aeroelastic Analysis of Composite Rotor Blades Using Three-dimensional Solid Elements
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Helicopter rotor blades are typically designed and analysed based on their macroscopic aeroelastic behavior, such as flap–lag dynamics, torsional deformation, and stability characteristics. While classical homogenized material models are effective for predicting global responses, they are limited in capturing stiffness degradation, damping evolution, and damage accumulation arising from the complex microstructure of composite materials. In particular, rotor blades employ composite materials for skins and spars, whose mesoscale architecture plays a critical role in governing long-term structural performance under cyclic aerodynamic and inertial loading. In this study, an FE²-based framework for the multiscale aeroelastic analysis of composite helicopter rotor blades using three-dimensional solid elements is proposed. At the macroscale, the rotor blade is modeled using 3D solid finite elements to capture detailed stress and deformation responses. The influence of composite microstructure is incorporated through representative volume elements (RVEs) describing the woven architecture. A multiscale homogenization procedure satisfying the Hill–Mandel condition is employed to couple the microscale and macroscale responses. The resulting multiscale structural model is then coupled with an aerodynamic solver under various flight conditions. This framework enables the investigation of aeroelastic behavior while consistently incorporating microscale material responses into the macroscopic structural performance.
