Identification of landing sites for rescue helicopters in mountains with use of Geographic Information Systems

Helicopters are often used in mountain rescue both for rescuers moving in the area of accidents and for evacuating victims, but in steep or forested terrain finding a landing place can be problematic. The main aim of this research is to use Digital Elevation Model(DEM) and cartographic database analysis to select locations that can be used as landing site for the rescue helicopters. Methods were based on GIS analysis;both raster and vector data were used for identifying touchdown points for rescue helicopters. Based on DEM data, locations with a low slope gradient were identified;topographic vector data were used for identifying unforested sites. Then buffer zones for buildings and power lines were excluded, and it was checked whether the areas had any topographic features that prevented helicopter landings. The findings were verified on an orthophotomap. In result, GIS analyses have selected 1232 polygons that fulfilled initial criteria. Their verification on orthophotomap has shown that only 55% of them could be potentially used as landing site. Landing sites can be found mainly on side ridges of mountain ranges and in valley beds, when those on ridges are most important in this research. The greatest difficulties and methodological challenges are posed by: identification of sites having a shape which prevents landing, the obsolescence of data due to environment dynamics, the presence of features that are not shown on maps but prevent helicopter landings. A map of landing sites is a very useful tool to conduct rescue operations, but each use of a given landing site requires both in-field and numerical verification. The analysis demonstrated that GIS toolsare useful in pre-planning of rescue missions, and also showed that such data must be kept up-to-date and in-field verification is needed continuously, the more so as it plays an important role in ensuring the safety of rescuers and victims.

Fatigue Life Analysis of the Hoist Bracket for Rescue Helicopters

Helicopter rescue has become an important way of life and property relief in modern society.The structure and parameters of the helicopter hoist bracket influence the convenience,safety and reliability of the rescue operation for the lifeguard and hoistman.Based on fatigue analysis theory and ANSYS workbench software,the fatigue life analysis of the hoist bracket is carried out.First,the structure of the hoist bracket is modeled according to the body standard of the hoistman and lifeguard.Then an approach is presented to obtain the S-N curve of the hoist bracket by modifying the S-N curve of the bracket material based on Goodman curve while considering the influences of the shape,size,surface state,loading conditions and the average stress.Further,based on the ANSYS workbench analysis,the life and safety nephogram of the bracket under the fluctuating cyclic load can be obtained.Finally,the designed bracket is analyzed with the proposed method.The cycles number of the bracket is greater than 107 under the extreme conditions of the pulsating cyclic load,which may be considered as the unlimited life and meets the requirement of the fatigue strength.

Team effectiveness evaluation and virtual reality scenario mapping model for helicopter emergency rescue

The application of helicopter emergency rescue is becoming increasingly widespread,but the flight crew training in this area is still difficult due to high cost and risk.Nevertheless,with the development of Virtual Reality(VR)technology,virtual simulation has become a significant role in crew training of helicopter rescue.During the implementation of VR-based training,how to transform complex real tasks into VR scenarios and how to evaluate the performance of crew are of great importance.To address these issues,a novel VR-based R-E-A-D(Report,Evaluate,Agree,Do)evaluation model for training is proposed,which is suitable for complex missions with multiple tasks,multiple scenarios,and multiple people.Then,a mapping method of VR scenarios is put forward,which can transform the real tasks into virtual scenarios to serve the virtual simulation training.Finally,an experiment is carried out to verify the feasibility of the evaluation method and virtual scenario mapping method.

Topology Optimization Design and Strength Analysis of the Hoist Bracket for Rescue Helicopters

The hoist bracket links the rescue hoist with the helicopter cabin, and its structure design greatly affects the operation convenience and safety of the hoistman and lifeguard in the rescue process with a helicopter.This paper firstly builds the force model of the hoist and bracket, and gives five kinds of typical working conditions as the design ones of the bracket. Then this paper puts forward a design process of the hoist bracket based on the topology optimization and strength analysis with the 3D modeling and finite element analysis. This design process can make the bracket's structure lightweight by achieving the optimal material layout under the conditions of maximizing the static stiffness or minimizing the compliance of the bracket. And this improves the dynamic performance of the helicopter, and reduces the fuel consumption and cost under the strength constraints. Finally,taking the design of the hoist bracket used in a rescue helicopter as an example, this paper illustrates the proposed model and method. The analysis results show that the mass of the hoist bracket decreases by 12.5% while the static stiffness of the hoist bracket is achieved. The optimization design results meet the strength requirements of the hoist.