Use of optimization in helicopter vibration control by structural modification

The application of a mathematical optimization process to helicopter vibration control by structural modification is described. Attention is focused on the reduction of vibration in the crew area. With stiffness parameters as design variables, use is made of forced vibration response circles to identify the parameters most effective in controlling the response in the crew area, thereby reducing the number of available design variables to a tractable size. The problem of reducing vibration is then cast as a non-linear programming problem and a sequential unconstrained minimization technique incorporating an algorithm based on the methods of Davidon, Fletcher and Powell is used to determine the precise values of the parameters. The method is applied to a simple two-dimensional beam-element helicopter fuselage model and the results discussed. Although the model is too simple for useful deductions of practical significance to be made in the strictly engineering sense, the exercise does demonstrate what can and cannot be done in controlling vibration by using an optimization routine.