Rotor database
This repo contains a list of rotor geometries and the associated experimental data. All these data were found in articles, technical reports, theses, etc. The reference is always listed alongside the files.
Organization
Every entry comes with at least two csv files:
-
<rotor_name>_geom.csv
contains the geometric parameters of the rotor -
<rotor_name>_data.csv
contains the experimental measurements
General file info
All files start with some commented lines (i.e., lines starting with #
).
These comments indicate
- the origin of the data
- "tags" to quickly identify topics of interest with
grep
or similar tools - the units of the columns
The available tags are compiled in the following table
Tag | Description |
---|---|
hover |
Hovering helicopter |
axial |
Helicopter in axial climb/descent |
oblique |
Oblique flows (e.g., helicopter in forward flight) |
coaxial |
Coaxial rotors |
propeller |
Aircraft propeller |
incomplete |
Incomplete datasets (no all data in reproduced in the csv) |
Geometry files
The geometry files are standardized so they all share the same formatting, columns order, etc. They are also all given in SI units.
The columns represent the different parameters, while the rows give the values of these parameters in some specific blade sections. This means that the first data always corresponds to the section at the blade root cutout, while the last data corresponds to the section at blade tip.
Data files
The data files reflect the available information in the source material. It is currently not planned to standardize them, so each file should be scrutinized properly before usage in your codes. The data are presented in their original units, so use it with caution.
Scripts
Small scripts/functions will be provided in the future in the scripts/
directory to help you load and parse the data in the most common languages.
Contributing
Any contribution to this database is more than welcomed. A small python script will be provided shortly to streamline the generation of the geometry file.
List of rotors
- NACA-TN-626: Knight & Hefner, Static Thrust Analysis of the Lifting Airscrew
- NASA-TM-81232: Caradonna & Tung, Experimental and Analytical Studies of a Model Helicopter Rotor in Hover