Rotor Blades
I have a question regarding the design of rotor blades and would be most grateful of any comments.. .. .I have been wondering why we don't use hollow rotor blades?. .. .The benefits of this, I thought, would be:. .. .If the blades were hollow with a hole at the root open to atmosphere the air inside the blade would be forced towards the tip of the blade as it rotates. This air could then be bled out at the tip to do such things as help delay mach crit, reduce tip vortices and re-energize the boundary layer. . .. .I will be the first to admit that I know very little about the complexities of aerodynamics so I guess there are reasons as to why this simple idea won't work I was just wondering if someone could help me to understand why.. .. .The only drawback I could think of is the reduction in the strength of the blade, maybe this would outweigh any the benefits?. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" />