arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All Acoustic End-of-Line Test Systems See All DAQ and instruments See All Electroacoustics See All Software See All Transducers See All Vibration Testing Equipment See All Academy See All Resource Center See All Applications See All Industries See All Insights See All Services See All Support See All Our Business See All Our History See All Our Sustainability Commitment See All Global Presence
arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All Actuators See All Combustion Engines See All Durability See All eDrive See All Production Testing Sensors See All Transmission & Gearboxes See All Turbo Charger See All DAQ Systems See All High Precision and Calibration Systems See All Industrial electronics See All Power Analyser See All S&V Hand-held devices See All S&V Signal conditioner See All Test Solutions See All DAQ Software See All Drivers & API See All nCode - Durability and Fatigue Analysis See All ReliaSoft - Reliability Analysis and Management See All Test Data Management See All Utility See All Vibration Control See All Acoustic See All Current / voltage See All Displacement See All Load Cells See All Pressure See All Strain Gauges See All Torque See All Vibration See All LDS Shaker Systems See All Power Amplifiers See All Vibration Controllers See All Accessories for Vibration Testing Equipment See All Training Courses See All Articles See All Acoustics See All Asset & Process Monitoring See All Custom Sensors See All Data Acquisition & Analysis See All Durability & Fatigue See All Electric Power Testing See All NVH See All Reliability See All Smart Sensors See All Vibration See All Weighing See All Automotive & Ground Transportation See All Calibration See All Installation, Maintenance & Repair See All Support Brüel & Kjær See All Release Notes See All Compliance See All Our People
arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All CANHEAD See All GenHS See All LAN-XI See All MGCplus See All Optical Interrogators See All QuantumX See All SomatXR See All Accessories See All Accessories See All BK Connect / Pulse See All API See All Microphone Sets See All Microphone Cartridges See All Acoustic Calibrators See All Special Microphones See All Microphone Pre-amplifiers See All Sound Sources See All Accessories for acoustic transducers See All Experimental testing See All Transducer Manufacturing (OEM) See All Accessories See All Non-rotating (calibration) See All Rotating See All CCLD (IEPE) accelerometers See All Charge Accelerometers See All Impulse hammers / impedance heads See All Cables See All Accessories See All Electroacoustics See All Noise Source Identification See All Environmental Noise See All Sound Power and Sound Pressure See All Noise Certification See All Industrial Process Control See All Structural Health Monitoring See All Electrical Devices Testing See All Electrical Systems Testing See All Grid Testing See All High-Voltage Testing See All Vibration Testing with Electrodynamic Shakers See All Structural Dynamics See All Machine Analysis and Diagnostics See All Calibration Services for Transducers See All Calibration Services for Handheld Instruments See All Calibration Services for Instruments & DAQ See All On-Site Calibration See All Resources See All Software License Management

Marenco: A helicopter on the test bench

Marenco Swisshelicopter, Switerzland

Introduction

Marenco Swisshelicopter developed their new helicopter in real record time. To meet their deadlines, Marenco opted for HBK sensors and DAQ systems.

chevron_left
chevron_right

A helicopter on the test bench: HBK helps Marenco Swisshelicopter get SKYe SH09 aircraft off the ground

Four years from the drawing board to a successful test flight. Two more years until delivery of the first ten helicopters to customers in 2016. That is the ambitious schedule of Marenco Swisshelicopter (Marenco) for the Marenco SKYe SH09 model helicopter.

This aircraft is the first helicopter developed and manufactured in Switzerland and is a completely new development: The light, single-engine, multi-purpose helicopter has a fiber-composite fuselage that is unique on the market.

Designing such a groundbreaking model challenged the developers of the SKYe SH09, demanding all of their abilities. The developers also needed reliable partners that could help them make their dream of flying a Swiss-made aircraft a reality. For its measurement needs, Marenco found just such a partner in HBK, which supplied the reliable measurement technology, know-how and passion needed to help SKYe SH09 become a success story.

SKYe SH09—built from the ground up

Marenco Swisshelicopter had undertaken nothing less than the development of a totally innovative helicopter in the 2.5 ton class – and in record time at that. Development was launched in 2010. Delivery of the first helicopters to customers is planned for 2016. The developers started from scratch. There were no predecessor models to turn to and the market offered no comparable product. To appeal to the most demanding customers, the SKYe SH09 sets new standards in its class in terms of hot and high performance, noise emission, cost-effectiveness and variability. This is made possible by combining a powerful drive with a helicopter fuselage unique in the world, made entirely of carbon, which can also be easily adapted to an extensive range of requirements.

Setting a high bar for measurement reliability

Having set high standards for the first Swiss-made helicopter, Marenco also set demanding requirements for its project partners to help ensure the 2016 delivery. The company needed accurate test equipment to verify safety so it could receive a type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the American counterpart, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This certificate states that the aircraft manufacturing design is sound. It was therefore essential to choose reliable measurement technology that would deliver precise measurement results.

The company’s developers had used HBK solutions in the past and had positive experiences, so Marenco opted to team with HBK to measure strain, forces and torque with its rugged and reliable measurement technology.

INTERNAL USE - Case Study  marenco marenco_t40b

Solutions for the entire measuring chain, including custom-made transducers

Since selecting HBK, Marenco has been relying on high-tech HBK solutions at critical points in the development process, particularly for test benches in the whirl tower and for the main and tail rotor.

Three U10M force transducers in the whirl tower measure static and dynamic tensile and compressive forces of the helicopter rotor. Most torque is calculated directly from the three force transducers.

The test bench for the main gearbox uses a T40B variable digital torque transducer with a magnetic rotational speed measuring system for precise data acquisition, even at low speeds.

HBK custom-developed four three-component transducers for Marenco. These transducers are used for dynamic measurements of axial force Fz and lateral forces Fx and Fy. Static flight maneuvers can be simulated one-to-one with the three-component transducer.

The test bench for the tail rotor includes the compact HBK T22 transducer for simple torque applications and an additional HBK S9M force transducer.

In addition to the force and torque transducers it uses in the test benches, Marenco is also conducting experimental examinations of components using HBK strain gauges. The gauges are placed on the components, then evaluated and analyzed by powerful data acquisition systems in the HBK QuantumX family and with HBK catman software.

HBK's solutions have more than met the Marenco developers' expectations, and the company will continue to rely on HBK for measurement technology as in moves toward its 2016 delivery date and into the future.

About Marenco Swisshelicopter

Has a new name — Kopter. The Kopter Group, a Leonardo Company since April 2020, is developing a new generation of single turbine helicopter – the AW09 – that delivers best in class performance, the largest cabin and cargo volumes, outstanding modularity and modern electronic systems.

Technology Used

Related Case Studies