Design optimization of a small quadrotor's electrical propulsion system
The aim of this project is to conduct an investigation of current quadrotor's propulsion systems and suggest methods to improve them. These rotorcrafts are found in our modern everyday use such as in traffic control, agriculture surveying and forest fire detection. Some advantages with respect...
| Autor: | |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2099.1/12472 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2099.1/12472 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Drone aircraft Propulsion systems UAV Quadrotor Propulsion system Avions no tripulats Avions de reacció Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Aeronàutica i espai::Aeronaus::Avions Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Aeronàutica i espai::Aviònica::Simuladors de vol |
| Sumario: | The aim of this project is to conduct an investigation of current quadrotor's propulsion systems and suggest methods to improve them. These rotorcrafts are found in our modern everyday use such as in traffic control, agriculture surveying and forest fire detection. Some advantages with respect to other Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs are noticed in quadrotors in terms of the suitability for indoor/outdoor or urban applications, their agile maneuverability and their control simplicity since they do not require mechanical linkages to vary the rotor's blade pitch angle. However, these machines are still within the Edison level in terms of propulsion efficiency and hence offer possibilities for some improvements. The master thesis will include a general introduction to small quadrotors and an analysis of their use, followed by a literature review and a historical background while considering state of the art of small quadrotors built so far. Design and testing analysis will be gathered with the experience that I gained during my internship at CTAE, Aerospace Research & Technology Centre, where these issues are being worked on, with the aim of reaching an operational prototype. An extensive discussion about rotor selection considerations as well as the motor-battery-propeller combination will be reported as a vital part covered during my internship. Propulsion tests will be performed in CTAE's Lab including testing apparatus and test bench set-up description in details. Tests' procedures coupled with their results and data analysis for each test will also be discussed thoroughly. In order to meet the objectives described above a numerical analysis based on blade element and momentum theories will be set up for batch analysis. The numerical results will be compared with text book data along with experimental results conducted in the laboratory, where different propellers will be tested for thrust generation, taking into consideration the divergence in results that might be generated from the quality of the airfoil data. The objective of this numerical analysis is to propose design guidelines leading to better rotor efficiency by using mathematical calculations. Another key point to enhance the propulsion system will be to find the best battery-motor-gearing combination for the selected propeller for efficient thrust production. |
|---|