Assessment of composite rotor blade modeling techniques

In the present paper, an assessment is made of the state-of-the-art in mode ling composite rotors with a view of bringing out the influence of special characteristics of composite materials. The review encompasses the modeling of thin- and thick-walled composite rotors, the influences of non-classica l effects such as out-of-plane warping, warping restraints, and transverse shear, non-uniformities in blade construction, large deformations, aeroelas tic stability in hover and in forward flight, aeromechanical stability and optimization. The paper includes recommendations for future directions in t hese topics.