Helicopter rotor health monitoring- a review

A review of the literature on helicopter rotor system health monitoring is conducted in this paper. An introduction is provided to the work on rotor track and balance and commercial health and usage monitoring systems. Research on the modelling of typical rotor system faults using aeroelastic analysis is discussed and the use of damage detection algorithms based on neural network, fuzzy logic, and system identification is pointed out. The use of non-destructive testing (NDT) approaches, such as modal methods, acoustic emission, and wave-based approaches for rotor health monitoring is discussed. Finally, work on the health monitoring of composite helicopter rotors is discussed and inverse problem solution and life prediction issues are addressed. Future research needs in the area are pointed out.