Technology developed by LORD Corporation – a leader in the management of vibration, motion and noise control – will be presented as part of two papers at the American Helicopter Society’s (AMS) Annual Forum 67 and Technology Display.

The forum will take place May 3-5, 2011 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, Va.

On May 3, 2011 at 11:30 a.m., Conor Marr, a Ph.D. Candidate at Penn State University, will present a paper entitled “Multi-State Lead-Lag Damper Development and Validation.”  The speaker will discuss a first generation prototype built and bench-tested by LORD Corporation to validate the multi-state behavior of the design. Additionally, to predict the damper behavior, an analytical model and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model using the commercial program FLUENT® were developed and compared to the experimental data. Developed to reduce damper forces when damping is not required, a multi-state lead-lag damper was designed with the cooperation of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence Department of Aerospace Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., and LORD Corporation.

The initial bench testing and computational fluid dynamics study verify the validity of the bypass damper concept, and prove the device ready for the next stage of development and testing. Experimental results and conclusions will be discussed during the presentation.

According to Zach Fuhrer, a co-author of the paper and Senior Engineer, LORD Corporation, the idea for a multi-state or frequency selective damper has been around for decades. “The concept of multi-state dampers has resulted in a variety of adaptable or multi-state dampers that attempt to resolve this issue. A simple passive or semi- active multi-state damper, if validated by analytical simulation and representative experimental testing, could help to solve the problem of high root loads that currently accompanies the use of conventional lead-lag dampers,” said Fuhrer.

In addition, LORD Corporation’s design and test efforts on a vibration control test rig will be discussed on May 5 at 8:30 a.m. Entitled “Design and Testing of a New Vibration Suppression System,” the testing was performed under a cooperative Technology Investment Agreement (TIA) between Sikorsky Aircraft and the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD).

Mikel Brigley of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation will present the findings. According to Russ Altieri, a co-author of the paper and Technical Lead for Active Vibration Control at LORD Corporation, a prototype active vibration control system consisting of a new dual frequency Hub Mounted Vibration Suppressor (HMVS) developed and designed by LORD Corporation working in tandem with LORD Corporation’s Omni Active Vibration Control (AVC) system was designed, fabricated and bench tested by LORD. Testing was performed to demonstrate the capability of the system to completely suppress 4/rev vibratory loads for various loading and main rotor shaft speed conditions. To verify the operation of the vibration suppression system and determine the degree of vibration suppression throughout the fuselage, tests were conducted on a vibration control test rig at LORD Corporation’s research and development lab, located in Cary, N.C.

Results to be discussed during the presentation include HMVS suppressing fuselage vibration without the AVC actuators operating, non-rotation AVC actuators suppressing fuselage vibration without the HMVS operating, coupled HMVS and AVC suppressing fuselage vibration, coupled system reaction to changes in the disturbance load and coupled system reaction to changes in the main rotor speed. According to Altieri, the results show dramatic, global vibration reductions, as well as interesting data indicating that vibration in some areas are reduced at a faster rate than other areas. This technology development advances and complements LORD products for active vibration systems sold on helicopters throughout the world, he said.

For more information, visit http://www.vtol.org/forum67/forum67.html or meet with LORD at AHS in booth 725.

About LORD Corporation
Founded in 1924, LORD Corporation is a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and markets mechanical devices and electromechanical systems to control vibration, motion and noise; formulates, produces and sells general purpose and specialty adhesives, coatings and electronic materials; and develops products and systems utilizing magnetically responsive technologies. With headquarters in Cary, N.C., and sales in excess of $610MM, LORD has manufacturing in nine countries and offices in more than 15 major business centers. LORD Corporation employs more than 2,400 worldwide. Visit www.lord.com for more information.