Experimental Study of Gust Effects on Micro Air Vehicles

Abstract

Micro air vehicles have great potential for both civilian and military applications, but for successful deployment they must operate robustly in real world environments including flight in winds. An experimental study was performed to quantify the performance of a micro coaxial helicopter in realistic wind conditions. The experimental study evaluated different representative scenarios including: hover, forward flight, and landing on the edge of a rooftop. Each scenario was flight tested in nominal no wind cases and different wind levels. A synthetic wind generation system was used to create wind disturbances, and digital anemometers were used to measure wind magnitude and velocity at discrete spatial points. A motion capture system was used to measure vehicle position and attitude during flight tests as well as provide feedback for a conventional autopilot. Results show dramatic performance degradation in all wind environments. Flight observations reveal the micro coaxial helicopter could successfully operate in light winds with magnitudes of less than 2 m/s.

Micro Air Vehicle Scale Gust-Wing Interaction in a Wind Tunnel

“…There is also doubt as to the repeatability of such a test as commercially available fans are not manufactured to high tolerances and room boundary conditions make any quantitative comparisons difficult. [25], Right: floor mounted vertical gust [15].…”

A bio-inspired active tail control actuator for nano air vehicles

“…A flapping wing NAV ( Figure 1) developed by the University of Maryland and Daedalus Flight Systems, LLC has demonstrated vertical lift and hover, but lacks stability in gusty conditions and for forward flight [1]. The NAV has demonstrated the capability to generate yaw, roll, and pitch moments; however, the actuation lag results in lack of stability.…”

Aeromechanics and Control of a Shrouded Rotor Micro Air Vehicle in Hover and in Edgewise Flow

“…This is especially important in an MAV scale due to its increased sensitivity to gust conditions (Ref. 32). This paper attempts to address some of these important considerations for the operation of a shrouded rotor when compared to an unshrouded rotor MAV.…”