Aerodynamic Analysis of an Orthogonal Octorotor UAV Considering Horizontal Wind Disturbance

Abstract

In this paper, the aerodynamic performance of an orthogonal octorotor UAV considering horizontal wind disturbances is investigated with numerical simulations and experiments. To obtian the effect of horizontal wind on the flight efficiency of the orthogonal octorotor UAV, the power consumption and thrust with different wind speeds (0–4 m/s) and rotational speeds (1500–2300 RPM) are measured in a low-speed wind tunnel. Also, the velocity distribution of downwash flow, blade tip vortex distribution, streamline distribution and rotor blade tip pressure distribution of the orthogonal octorotor UAV were simulated by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The test results show that the thrust is increased at lower wind speed compared with 0 m/s. Specifically, it increased by 8.1% at 2 m/s and 8.8% at 4 m/s, respectively. It is interesting to note that the increased power consumption caused by the interference of horizontal wind at a higher rotor speed leads to a decrease in power loading (PL). Additionally, the thrust increased with a higher PL at low speed, where the PL achieved the maximum for the wind of 2.5 m/s and obtained a better aerodynamic performance. Compared with traditional octorotor UAVs and eight equivalent isolated rotors, the orthogonal octorotor UAV has also been proven to obtain good wind resistance. Simulation results show that the increase in wind speed and rotor speed will make the flow field more complex and the airflow interference between rotors more intense, which leads to changes in rotor thrust and power consumption.

A Novel Debonding Damage Identification Approach of Hidden Frame-Supported Glass Curtain Walls Based on UAV-LDV System

“…The increasing demand for structural inspections, focusing on safety [13], durability [14,15], and comfort [16,17], makes the intelligent inspection of UAVs an inevitable trend in health monitoring processes [18]. The development of UAV technology has provided formidable technical support for this demand, including improved stability [19], enhanced wind resistance [20], increased load capacity [21], extended endurance [22], strengthened obstacle avoidance capability [23], etc. For example, the DJI Mavic 3 is a powerful and efficient drone available to the consumer designed by SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (Suzhou, China).…”

Gust Modeling with State-of-the-Art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Software and Its Influence on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

“…Let us notice that there is variety of publications on UAVs aerodynamics, which includes numerical analysis [27], as well as combined experimental and CFD investigation [28,29]. The purposes of the identified works are mostly aerodynamic shape optimization [30] or examination of the influence of flight conditions on the aerodynamic characteristics of UAVs [31,32], which is also a topic of the presented work. However, in the analyzed studies, the influence of gusts dynamically changing the flow velocity magnitude and angles has not been assessed, which is considered as a novelty of the presented study.…”