Researchers earn multi-year Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence grant to study coaxial rotor phenomena

Helicopters when operated close to the ground not only generate a flurry of blinding dust and turbulent outwash making the operating environment complex, but also the vehicle’s performance gets modified. Arguably less safe, a proper understanding of these modifications is paramount to ensure the safety of these vehicles.

Two assistant professors in aerospace engineering, Vrishank Raghav and Ehsan Taheri, and graduate student Lokesh Silwal, developed a proposal that will make strides to understand these complex flow phenomena.

To understand the flow environment by implementing Taheri’s proposed control algorithm, the team received multi-year funding under the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence, or VLRCOE, program, which is jointly funded by the U.S. Army, Navy, and NASA, and combines innovative research with collaboration across government, industry and academia to train the next generation of aviation scientists and engineers.

“These honors are typically reserved for cutting-edge fundamental research and receiving them is an acknowledgement of our subject matter and hard work as a team here at Auburn University,” said Raghav, who was once funded by the VLRCOE program as a graduate student at Georgia Tech. “An award from the VLRCOE is an outstanding achievement in one’s career and it recognizes the researcher’s effort toward pushing the boundaries of vertical flight.”

Read the full story.