Methodology for Testing Damaged Composite Helicopter Rotor Blades

The proposed methodology defines the procedure for testing composite blades of helicopter rotors that have suffered damage due to direct hits of projectiles of different origins. The methodology involves the integration of a number of types of tests in order to assess the quality of the composite structure of the blade, on the one hand, as well as in order to determine the ability of the blade to perform vital function on a helicopter. It is known that the evident lack of data on the behavior of helicopter rotor blades that are damaged (particularly in combat conditions of military use) causes a careful approach to the problem of defining the plan and program of testing such structures, especially from the aspect of using composite materials in blade structure.