Development of three-dimensional state-space wake theory and application in dynamic ground effect

In topics of rotorcraft wake analysis, state-space wake theory has a recognized reputation for advantages in real-time simulation, preliminary design and eigenvalue analysis. Developments in the past decades greatly improved range of validity and accuracy of the state-space modeling approach.; This work focuses on further improvement of the state-space wake theory and applications in representing dynamic ground effect. Extended state-space model is developed to represent non-zero mass flux on rotor disk. Its instant practical application, representing ground effect with a mass source ground rotor, is evaluated in both steady and dynamic aspects. Investigations of partial ground effect simulation by state-space model are carried out in different rotor configurations. Additional work is done in improving simulation efficiency of practical application of state-space modeling.