Abstract:
Rotorcraft operating in desert and shore environments continue to experience severe rotor blade erosion. To mitigate damage from sand and rain, rotor blade leading edges have historically been designed with a metallic abrasion strip that serves as sacrificial material to absorb the damage. Erosion of the metal abrasion strip can become a major contributor aircraft downtime and maintenance activities. Sand erosion takes place during takeoff and landing, or during ground operations where dust, sand, and other debris are lifted by the rotor downwash. Rain erosion occurs during aircraft operation in heavy rainfall. To alleviate the maintenance costs associated with rotor erosion, a number of research efforts have investigated alternative rotor blade abrasion strip treatments to develop new structures or coatings that are more resistant to erosion damage. The ONR RotorShield erosion coating system is a technology applied to the V-22 to enable extended erosion protection and achieves the goals of reduced maintenance and repair costs associated with erosion damage. The erosion coating technology is compliant with V-22 rotor blade requirements such as: weight; fatigue; ice protection system; lightning strike and aerodynamics.