This study discusses a general framework to identify the unsteady features of a flow past an oscillating aerofoil in deep dynamic stall conditions. In particular, the work aims at demonstrating the advantages for the design process of the Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition in accurately producing reliable reduced models of CFD systems and comparing this technique with standard snapshot-based models. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes system of equations, coupled with $k-\omega$ SST turbulence model, is used to produce the dataset, the latter consisting of a two-dimensional NACA 0012 aerofoil in the pitching motion. Modal analysis is performed on both velocity and pressure fields showing that, for vectored values, a proper tuning of the filtering process allows for better results compared to snapshot formulations and extract highly correlated coherent flow structures otherwise undetected. Wider filters, in particular, produce enhanced coherence without affecting the typical frequency response of the coupled modes. Conversely, the pressure field decomposition is drastically affected by the windowing properties. In conclusion, the low-order spectral reconstruction of the pressure field allows for an excellent prediction of aerodynamic loads. Moreover, the analysis shows that snapshot-based models better perform on the CFD values during the pitching cycle, while spectral-based methods better fit the loads’ fluctuations.

Dynamic stall is a phenomenon on the retreating blade of a helicopter which can lead to excessive control loads. In order to understand dynamic stall and fill the gap between the investigations on pitching wings and full helicopter rotor blades, a numerical investigation of a single rotating and pitching blade is carried out. The flow phenomena thereupon including the $\Omega$-shaped dynamic stall vortex, the interaction of the leading edge vortex with the tip vortex, and a newly noticed vortex structure originating inboard are examined; they show similarities to pitching wings, while also possessing their unique features of a rotating system. The leading edge/tip vortex interaction dominates the post-stall stage. A newly noticed swell structure is observed to have a great impact on the load in the post-stall stage. With such a high Reynolds number, the Coriolis force exerted on the leading edge vortex is negligible compared to the pressure force. The force history/vortex structure of the slice $r/R$ = 0.898 is compared with a 2D pitching airfoil with the same harmonic pitch motion, and the current simulation shows the important role played by the swell structure in the recovery stage.

In the field of Helicopter Engineering the need for a simultaneous variation of the pitch angle of the blade during its rotation about the hub is the cause of a major issue known as dynamic stall. This event is responsible for significant structural problems due to the periodic presence of augmented loads conditions that may couple with the rotor dynamics and cause the earlier