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## Integrated design and manufacturing of structural elements for helicopter fuselage- Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

### Karol Owczarek

#### Abstract

From the very beginnings of the aviation industry, aircraft design was a process of trial and error. It was virtually impossible to obtain a successful design in the first approach, therefore prototypes were built and systematically improved in the course of intensive research and development works. A perfect example, and also the subject of this thesis, is the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Designed in the early seventies it is still, after more than thirty years, a subject to constant upgrades and every few years a new, improved version of the helicopter appears on the market. Owing to this approach UH-60 is among the best helicopters in the world. Sikorsky has sold more than 3000 Black Hawks in various versions so far and became a world leader in the production of helicopters. This would not be possible without the application of the latest computer software, especially the advanced CAD/CAM/CAE systems, which aid the processes of design and manufacturing, and better optimization methods, which raise the processes of design and optimization to a new standard. This thesis could not be written without the wide use of CAD/CAM/CAE systems and the combinatorial-cyclic optimization method of S. Ziętarski. Summary: The main aim of this thesis was to integrate design and manufacturing processes of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk fuselage frames. In order to achieve this, a virtual model of the helicopter, with great emphasis put on the accuracy of the fuselage, had to be built. Geometric and aerodynamic data are, however, the most guarded secret of aircraft manufacturers, especially if it concerns military designs. Therefore, one of the aims of the thesis was to obtain UH-60 geometry, by means of reverse engineering methods, from photos and drawings available on the Internet and to optimize the curves using the combinatorial-cyclic optimization method. For integration and automation of design and manufacturing processes, a program in GRIP was written. Graphical Interactive Programming (GRIP) is an internal programming code of Unigraphics - leader in the CAD/CAM/CAE technology. The program generates a model of the helicopter and on its basis automatically creates a model of the frame selected by the user. The frame can be then sent to an applet, also written in GRIP, which simulates manufacturing process on a 5 axis milling machine. The applet generates a CLSF file, which after post processing can be used to control a CNC mill that manufactures a real frame with the use of conventional or high speed machining technology. In the production process, after manufacturing on a CNC machine tool, the component should be inspected in order to check dimensional accuracy. This can be done by comparing measurement points of the component and the virtual model. Since it was impossible to manufacture a full scale helicopter frame for the purpose of this thesis, only computer simulation of the measuring process was performed. The simulation involved measuring the frame with a coordinate measuring machine and measuring the whole helicopter with a 3D optical scanner. To the obtained cloud of points, deviations were introduced so as to simulate any manufacturing errors, which were then detected by the combinatorial-cyclic method.
Diploma type
Engineer's / Bachelor of Science
Diploma type
Engineer's thesis
Author
Karol Owczarek (FPAE) Karol Owczarek,, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering (FPAE)
Title in Polish
Zintegrowane projektowanie i wytwarzanie elementów konstrukcyjnych kadłuba śmigłowca Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
Supervisor
Stanisław Ziętarski (FPE) Stanisław Ziętarski,, Faculty of Production Engineering (FPE)
Certifying unit
Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering (FPAE)
Affiliation unit
The Institute of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics (FPAE/IAAM)
Study subject / specialization
, Mechanika i Budowa Maszyn
Language
(pl) Polish
Status
Finished
Defense Date
04-06-2007
Issue date (year)
2007
Pages
101
Internal identifier
MEL; PD-391
Reviewers
Jerzy Lewitowicz (FPAE/IAAM) Jerzy Lewitowicz,, The Institute of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics (FPAE/IAAM)Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering (FPAE) Stanisław Ziętarski (FPE) Stanisław Ziętarski,, Faculty of Production Engineering (FPE)
Keywords in Polish
śmigłowce, śmigłowce bojowe, modelowanie, symulacja, budowa śmigłowców, systemy cad/cam/cae
Keywords in English
xxx
Abstract in Polish
File
• File: 1
praca.doc
• File: 2
1_i_2_strona_pracy.doc
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Uniform Resource Identifier
https://repo.pw.edu.pl/info/bachelor/WUT097279c46afc407e97023c25caf3ffde/
URN
urn:pw-repo:WUT097279c46afc407e97023c25caf3ffde

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