Which rotor feature causes an upward bending of blades due to lift and centrifugal force?

Which rotor feature causes an upward bending of blades due to lift and centrifugal force?

• A. Blade Coning
• B. Blade Damper
• C. Blade Feather or Feathering
• D. Antitorque Rotor

Answer: (A)

When the rotor blades experience lift while the rotor is spinning, the blade sections develop bending moments. At the same time, centrifugal force acts outward along the blade, helping to pull it outward and upward rather than allowing it to flop downward. The combination of lift bending the blade upward and centrifugal force lifting and stiffening the blade causes the blades to take on a conical shape as they rise from the hub. This upward deflection pattern is what engineers call blade coning. The other terms describe different ideas: a blade damper reduces flapping and vibration but isn’t about the upward bending caused by lift and centrifugal force; feathering changes the blade pitch to reduce drag, not the blade’s coned shape; and the antitorque rotor is the tail rotor used to counteract main rotor torque, not a feature describing blade deflection. So the concept that matches the described upward bending is blade coning.

When the rotor blades experience lift while the rotor is spinning, the blade sections develop bending moments. At the same time, centrifugal force acts outward along the blade, helping to pull it outward and upward rather than allowing it to flop downward. The combination of lift bending the blade upward and centrifugal force lifting and stiffening the blade causes the blades to take on a conical shape as they rise from the hub. This upward deflection pattern is what engineers call blade coning.

The other terms describe different ideas: a blade damper reduces flapping and vibration but isn’t about the upward bending caused by lift and centrifugal force; feathering changes the blade pitch to reduce drag, not the blade’s coned shape; and the antitorque rotor is the tail rotor used to counteract main rotor torque, not a feature describing blade deflection. So the concept that matches the described upward bending is blade coning.