Car-Top Test Module as a Low-Cost Alternative to Wind Tunnel Testing of UAV Propulsion Systems

Chaney, Christopher S.; Bahrami, Justin; Gavin, Patrick A.; Shoemake, Elijah D.; Barrow, Eric S.; Matveev, Konstantin I.

doi:10.1061/(asce)as.1943-5525.0000425

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Hundreds of options are available for each of the components, with generally non-scientific advice for choosing the proper combinations. To date, there has been significant effort in the modeling [119][120][121][122] and testing [111,112,118,[123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133][134] of UAV propulsion system components. However, there has been comparatively limited effort put into optimizing the matching of these components [135], with most of the effort towards custom-designed or generic-shaped propellers [50,[136][137][138][139].…”

Section: Propulsion System Optimization Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cyber-Physical Prototyping and Testing Framework to Enable the Rapid Development of UAVs

2022

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In this work, a cyber-physical prototyping and testing framework to enable the rapid development of UAVs is conceived and demonstrated. The UAV Development Framework is an extension of the typical iterative engineering design and development process, specifically applied to the rapid development of UAVs. Unlike other development frameworks in the literature, the presented framework allows for iteration throughout the entire development process from design to construction, using a mixture of simulated and real-life testing as well as cross-aircraft development. The framework presented includes low- and high-order methods and tools that can be applied to a broad range of fixed-wing UAVs and can either be combined and executed simultaneously or be executed sequentially. As part of this work, seven novel and enhanced methods and tools were developed that apply to fixed-wing UAVs in the areas of: flight testing, measurement, modeling and emulation, and optimization. A demonstration of the framework to quickly develop an unmanned aircraft for agricultural field surveillance is presented.

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Section: Propulsion System Optimization Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cyber-Physical Prototyping and Testing Framework to Enable the Rapid Development of UAVs

2022

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“…Moore et al have also been testing the LEAPTech HEIST, which is a truck-based test rig for testing distributed electric propulsion. Most recently, Chaney et al 8 tested a 19 in and a 22 in propeller using a rig mounted to a steel frame, holding the rig 22 in (0.56 m) above the roof of a car.…”

Section: A Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Rolling Rig for Propeller Performance Testing

Dantsker

Selig²,

Mancuso³

2017

35th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference

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A rolling rig for propeller performance testing was developed. The rolling rig presented was used for performance testing of a Mejzlik 27 x 12 TH propeller, which is used on the UIUC AeroTestbed and the UIUC Subscale Sukhoi unmanned research aircraft. The performance parameters measured for the propeller will be used in the future to aid in the calculation of the aerodynamic coefficients of these aircraft. The rolling rig was instrumented to measure flow speed, propeller rotation rate, thrust, torque, air temperature, and air pressure, in order to find the thrust and torque vs. rotation rate curves as well the thrust coefficient, power coefficient, efficiency curves for the propeller. The rig, which is mounted onto a vehicle, was designed and fabricated to be portable such that it is assembled of three sub-assemblies: a platform, a shrouded vertical beam, and a testing apparatus. The rolling rig underwent extensive initial testing including simulated thrust and torque calibration, thermal imaging, and flow visualization. Results for the propeller from experiments performed at flow speeds of 0-60 mph are presented.

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“…11,12 Deters looked into the performance of micro propellers for both small/micro air vehicles, 13,14 later expanding his work to look at static performance of micro propellers for quadrotors. 15,16 Lindahl 17 tested large UAV propellers in a wind tunnel while Chaney 18 and Dantsker 19 did so using automotive based rigs. Lindahl also tested the effects of using different motors with a given propeller.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Propulsion System Testing for a Long-Endurance Solar-Powered Unmanned Aircraft

Dantsker

Deters²,

Caccamo

2019

AIAA Aviation 2019 Forum

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The increase in popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been driven by their use in civilian, education, government, and military applications. However, limited on-board energy storage significantly limits flight time and ultimately usability. The propulsion system plays a critical part in the overall energy consumption of the UAV; therefore, it is necessary to determine the most optimal combination of possible propulsion system components for a given mission profile, i.e. propellers, motors, and electronic speed controllers (ESC). Hundreds of options are available for the different components with little performance specifications available for most of them. In order to determine the performance specifications, a propulsion system testing apparatus has been developed and validated. This testing apparatus was designed to measure the performance and efficiency parameters of electric propulsion system components (propellers, motors, and ESC) while maintaining similar air flow characteristics in either a wind tunnel or on a moving automotive platform. Validation tests of four propellers are presented. All four propellers were tested under static conditions, and two were tested under advancing flow conditions where the testing apparatus was used on an automotive platform. The results show that this propulsion testing system provides for holistic testing of all possible compatible electric propulsion system components in a flight-like environment. Data from this system will be used in a mission-based propulsion system optimizer, currently in development, to select the best combination of components for a long-endurance solar-powered unmanned aircraft.

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Car-Top Test Module as a Low-Cost Alternative to Wind Tunnel Testing of UAV Propulsion Systems

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

A Cyber-Physical Prototyping and Testing Framework to Enable the Rapid Development of UAVs

A Cyber-Physical Prototyping and Testing Framework to Enable the Rapid Development of UAVs

A Rolling Rig for Propeller Performance Testing

Propulsion System Testing for a Long-Endurance Solar-Powered Unmanned Aircraft

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