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Sikorsky, LORD aim to eliminate not-so-good vibrations

The demonstration was part of an effort to address the challenge of crew
fatigue and reduced equipment reliability and readiness that are caused
by helicopter vibration.

Sikorsky and LORD made the announcement during the American Helicopter Society’s 70^th Annual Forum and Technology Display here in Montreal.

The two companies collaborated on the HMVS flight demonstration at
the U.S. Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) at Fort
Eustis, Virginia, in March. The flight test, completed in March 2014,
was performed as part of the Active Rotor Component Demonstration (ARCD)
program.

The ARCD HMVS flight test was a joint effort among AATD, Sikorsky
Aircraft and LORD Corporation. Flight testing on AATD’s UH-60A BLACK
HAWK helicopter included progression from a hover to 150 kts,
auto-rotations and 60-degree angle-of-bank turns. Successful testing in
the maneuvering conditions proved the HMVS technology suppressed
vibration even in the most dynamic flight conditions.

The HMVS cancels the largest vibratory loads near the source of the
vibration, which is the main rotor hub, thus keeping the loads from
propagating into the airframe. In preliminary flight testing, the HMVS
was found to reduce vibration significantly, with a 30 percent weight
reduction.

“This new technology is truly in the spirit of Igor Sikorsky for the
way that the team took an exciting innovation from bench testing through
successful flight testing,” said Mark Miller, Vice President of
Research & Engineering. “The HMVS reduced helicopter empty weight
and dramatically reduced vibrations. We would expect both crew endurance
and aircraft reliability to increase substantially under this new
technology.”

“LORD is proud to be part of this significant technical achievement,
and we are excited to continue to discuss the benefits of this new
technology,” said Lane Miller, LORD Corporation’s Vice President of
Research and Technology.