Propeller shrouding influence on lift force of mini unmanned quadcopter

Abstract

This article discusses the lift force generated by a mini unmanned aerial vehicle. Shrouded propellers were considered and analyses of shroud influence on lift force and energy saving were done. By help of laboratory experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations (propeller velocity varied from 1000 rpm to 6000 rpm, shroud height from 20 mm to 60 mm, gap from 3 mm to 28 mm), it was shown that the shroud diameter influenced the rotor energy consumption up to 30% at velocities of more than 4000 rpm. With the increase shroud diameter (increase of distance between shroud and propeller borders), the lifting force increased. A gap of more than 30 mm practically did not influence the lifting force. Shroud height (from 20 mm to 60 mm, gap is 28 mm) also influenced the propeller efficiency (up to 10%) on small shroud heights (up to 30 mm). With the increase of the shroud height, the lift force decreased about 3% and then it increased up to 12%. From a value of about 50 millimetres, this influence will be unchanged but the total lifting force will be about 5% less in comparison with the force produced by propeller without shroud.

Effect of Ducted Multi-Propeller Configuration on Aerodynamic Performance in Quadrotor Drone

“…Moaad, et al [26] reported that the improvement of drone maneuverability can be achieved by optimizing the ducted fan. Penkov, et al [27] examined the interactive impact on the lift force production on a mini UAV with the propellers shrouded in various shroud diameters and heights computationally and experimentally. Shukla, et al [28] conducted aeroacoustic measurements with a rotor with a removable protective duct over a range of hover conditions by means of stereo particle image velocimetry (SPIV).…”

“…Besides, the criterion of numerical convergence was set to be that either the maximum residual of pressure is less than 5 × 10 −5 or the maximum iteration steps is more than 3000. The CFD simulations were further validated via comparison of the lift force generated by the propeller with EXP data [27] under the same conditions, in terms of different diameters of the cylindrical shroud surrounding the propeller, from 270 mm to 310 mm with an interval of 10 mm, and a fixed shroud height of 60 mm (with the propeller having The CFD simulations were further validated via comparison of the lift force generated by the propeller with EXP data [27] under the same conditions, in terms of different diameters of the cylindrical shroud surrounding the propeller, from 270 mm to 310 mm with an interval of 10 mm, and a fixed shroud height of 60 mm (with the propeller having a radius of 127 mm and a rotational velocity of 5000 rpm). As shown in Figure 8, the CFD results are consistent with EXP results, sharing a similar trend that the propeller-induced lift force increases linearly with an increasing gap, while being lower than that of the non-ducted propeller accompanying a notable difference, which is caused by the different propeller morphology in the models of CFDs and EXPs.…”

“…The CFD simulations were further validated via comparison of the lift force generated by the propeller with EXP data [27] under the same conditions, in terms of different diameters of the cylindrical shroud surrounding the propeller, from 270 mm to 310 mm with an interval of 10 mm, and a fixed shroud height of 60 mm (with the propeller having a radius of 127 mm and a rotational velocity of 5000 rpm). As shown in Figure 8, the CFD results are consistent with EXP results, sharing a similar trend that the propeller-induced lift force increases linearly with an increasing gap, while being lower than that of the nonducted propeller accompanying a notable difference, which is caused by the different propeller morphology in the models of CFDs and EXPs.…”

Solar Power Can Substantially Prolong Maximum Achievable Airtime of Quadcopter Drones

“…Rotorcraft such as helicopters [21,22] and quadcopters [23][24][25] have been improving for many years. The working principles of quadcopters in particular have been extensively described in literature, [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] with most attention related to balance control and stability. [26][27][28][29] A few detailed analyses exist which relate to calculation of thrust, but with different effective efficiency.…”