Propeller Design Requirements for Quadcopters Utilizing Variable Pitch Propellers

McAndrew, Ian; Navarro, Elena; Witcher, Ken

doi:10.18178/ijmmm.2018.6.1.346

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This technology holds potential for various applications, including vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and the modification of flight parameters during the UAV's flight. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The materials commonly encountered in UAV propellers include thermoplastics including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), polyamide (PA) and polycarbonate (PC), are commonly used due to their lightweightness, superior ductility, ease of processing and recyclability compared to thermosets. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Furthermore, carbon fiber exhibits greater stiffness and reduced weight compared to thermoplastics, hence potentially enhancing its efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspection of microwave self‐healing efficiency in carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for aerospace applications

Irez

2024

Polymer Composites

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The aerospace industry is evolving very rapidly every day, and due to the low operational and maintenance costs, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are utilized for many duties, including imaging, patrol, surveillance, and delivery. Flying platforms prioritize effective load‐carrying capacity and light weight. To achieve this, lightweight materials with sufficient strength are utilized, and design optimizations are implemented. This study investigates material development for a UAV propeller, taking into account the possible consequences of a bird strike or hard landing such as micro damage occurrence. In this study, a twin‐screw extruder was used to produce hybrid composites by blending a thermoplastic, polyamide‐6 (PA6) with olefin block copolymers (OBC) and carbon nanotubes (CNT). After manufacturing test specimens by injection molding, tensile and Charpy impact tests were performed. OBC increased the elongation capacity and impact resistance of the PA6 through maleic anhydride (MAH) grafting while reducing the tensile strength. CNT incorporation compensated for this drop, but it rendered the composites more brittle. More importantly, due to the CNT's microwave (MW) absorption capacity, the hybrid composites have gained self‐healing properties. Extended MW exposure time and high MW powers may cause localized burning of the material, resulting in a decrease in its self‐healing efficiency. Following the failure of the examined composites, SEM microscopy revealed various toughening mechanisms in the composites. The use of a modified Halpin‐Tsai model to estimate the elastic characteristics of CNT‐reinforced composites revealed promising results, with minimal discrepancies when compared to experimental data.Highlights CNTs were found efficient for the self‐healing behavior which is critical for improving the lifetime and planning maintenance for UAV propellers. CNT content, MW power & exposure time all impact the self‐healing efficiency. Extended MW exposure time and high MW powers can cause localized burning of the material, resulting in a decrease in its self‐healing efficiency. CNTs created bridge effects, ultimately leading to an enhancement in the strength of the composites. The use of a modified Halpin‐Tsai model yielded good accuracy with experimental data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspection of microwave self‐healing efficiency in carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for aerospace applications

Irez

2024

Polymer Composites

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“…There has been research trying to utilize alternative energy sources such as gasoline engines [2] to increase flight endurance and allow for more useful applications. Alternatively, research has also been done to improve the quadcopter's performance efficiency by using variable-pitch propellers instead of traditional fixed-pitch propellers, but this increases the complexity of the control [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Flight Endurance of a Separate-Lift-and-Thrust Hybrid through Gaussian Process Optimization

Ng¹,

Chua²

2021

International Journal on Advanced Science, Engineering and Information Technology

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A separate-lift-and-thrust hybrid is a modified fixed-wing drone which includes quadcopter rotors. This results in the combined capability of forwarding flight as well as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), making it a low-cost method that can deliver substantial gains in utility. Though this is a strong point compared to other types of VTOL drones, the hybrid design may incur a significant trade-off because added weight and drag can severely reduce the drone's flight endurance. This study attempts to mitigate the impact by improving the configuration of the selection and positioning parameters. Since drag estimations are costly, a Gaussian process optimization method was performed, as it is economical with respect to the required number of iterations. A set of arbitrarily selected components was prepared for use with the optimization method, recording the relevant performance data and constructing the CAD models of the components for use in simulations. The optimization method was able to increase the estimated flight endurance to 27.99 minutes, a significant improvement compared to a set of random configurations, which only yielded 9.54 minutes at best. The respectable result was obtained even though difficulties were experienced regarding the infeasible regions that arise from the many constraints. Future implementation of this optimization approach can be further improved. It may be worthwhile to utilize a low-fidelity model from the base fixed-wing drone simulations, in contrast with using an initial zero mean for the prior of the Gaussian process.

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“…Therefore, it appears that ENR-50 would be considered to be an ideal choice for improving the impact resistance of epoxy resin for use different elements of UAV, specifically for propeller blades [14,15]. With the ever-increasing use of advanced composite materials, the influence of chemical or environmental aging is caused by various agents, such as humidity, wind, and ultraviolet radiation (UV) cause to irreversible changes in the molecular structure of units [16]. Consequently their overall durability is adversely influenced, which has become a major current concern to the aeronautic industry [17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Some Properties of Composite Drone Blades Made from Nanosilica Added Epoxidized Natural Rubber

et al. 2020

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The objective of this study was to investigate the basic properties of composite materials that were made from epoxidized natural rubber and nanosilica to be used as blades for drones. Nanocomposite samples were prepared with 5% of epoxidized natural rubber and epoxy resin loaded with 3% nanosilica. Their resistance against accelerated weathering conditions as well as mechanical properties, including flexural strength, impact strength, and hardness, were evaluated. Based on the findings of this work, the impact strength of the samples decreased 13.33% and 33.33% as a result of exposing them to weathering by UV radiation for 168 h and 336 h, respectively. However, their tensile strength properties enhanced 35.71% and 19.05% for the above corresponding exposure time spars. Experimental composite samples that were made in this study would have great potential to be used as raw material for propeller blade for drones based on their properties evaluated within the scope of this work.

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Propeller Design Requirements for Quadcopters Utilizing Variable Pitch Propellers

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Inspection of microwave self‐healing efficiency in carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for aerospace applications

Inspection of microwave self‐healing efficiency in carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites for aerospace applications

Improving the Flight Endurance of a Separate-Lift-and-Thrust Hybrid through Gaussian Process Optimization

Some Properties of Composite Drone Blades Made from Nanosilica Added Epoxidized Natural Rubber

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