Impact of Rotor-Rotor and Rotor-Body Aerodynamic Interactions on Quadrotor Vehicle Performance

Presented at the Vertical Flight Society 79th Annual Forum & Technology Display
Test and Evaluation Technical Session - Paper 1317
13 pages

https://doi.org/10.4050/F-0079-2023-18180

Abstract:
Rotor-rotor and rotor-body interactions can have a first-order impact on multirotor vehicle performance. Identification of these performance impacts has previously been limited to numerical analysis and controlled environment testing, and they are largely unknown for full-scale multirotor flight vehicles. To capture these interactional effects, the work presented in this paper used a series of wind tunnel and flight test experiments of a quadrotor vehicle at multiple speeds and sideslip angles to estimate these rotor-rotor and rotor-body interactions. Performance data was measured for individual rotors and for the overall vehicle at flight speeds ranging from 5 to 15 m/s. Results indicated that aft rotor performance decreased by 4.8% in the cross configuration with the fuselage. In the plus configuration, the fuselage resulted in a 3.8% decrease in the aft rotor thrust coefficient. Rotor performance between cross and plus configurations was measured in a series of flight tests, where the plus configuration had a higher overall thrust coefficient than the cross configuration. Inwardly rotating rotors resulted in a 5.0% increase in thrust coefficient compared to outwardly rotating rotors. Measured trends in rotor performance between the cross and plus configurations were highly nonlinear with respect to sideslip angle and vehicle velocity.

Did you attend Forum 79? Click the preview below to access the full paper.

The full paper is also available for purchase at the Vertical Flight Society Online Library and Store.