From Strain Measurements to Rotor Blade Shape and Loads Reconstruction: The BeSaME Project
Pierangelo MASARATI, Emanuele CASCIARO, Alessandro COCCO, Roman SUTOV, Paolo BETTINI, Alex ZANOTTI, Giovanni BERNARDINI, Francesco LIGUORI, Jacopo SERAFINI, Claudio PASQUALI
Abstract. The BeSaME (Helicopter Blade State and Loads Reconstruction Through Virtual Sensing for Health Monitoring and Performance Enhancement) project develops a virtual sensing framework for the real-time monitoring of helicopter rotor blades. Strain data from embedded fiber Bragg grating sensors are processed using inverse finite element methods and state estimation algorithms to reconstruct blade deformation and sectional loads. Aeroelastically scaled composite blades are manufactured and experimentally tested under static, dynamic, wind-tunnel, and rotating conditions, supported by a validated digital twin. The placement of the sensors is optimized to maximize the accuracy of reconstruction. Preliminary results show sub-percent shape estimation errors and load reconstruction errors below 5%.
Keywords
Strain Measurements, Shape Sensing, Load Evaluation, Aerodynamic Testing
Published online 7/20/2026, 5 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Pierangelo MASARATI, Emanuele CASCIARO, Alessandro COCCO, Roman SUTOV, Paolo BETTINI, Alex ZANOTTI, Giovanni BERNARDINI, Francesco LIGUORI, Jacopo SERAFINI, Claudio PASQUALI, From Strain Measurements to Rotor Blade Shape and Loads Reconstruction: The BeSaME Project, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 69, pp 880-884, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904251-155
The article was published as article 155 of the book CEAS – AIDAA Conference 2025
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
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