Static Testing of Micro Propellers

Deters, Robert W.; Selig, Michael S.

doi:10.2514/6.2008-6246

Cited by 47 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The effect of reducing the pitch significantly decreased all three measures of performance. This same trend can be found in the data provided by Deters and Selig (2008) for the coefficient of thrust and coefficient of power for the GWS 4.0 × 4.0 propeller versus that for the GWS 4.0 × 2.5 propeller. In Figure 7, the variation of the three performance parameters with varying propeller diameter is also shown to be significant, where increasing the diameter decreased the thrust coefficient and power coefficient but increased the propeller efficiency.…”

Section: Static Test Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

“…Static tests were performed on two propellers (GWS 4.5 × 3.0 and GWS 5.0 × 4.3) which matched tests performed by Deters and Selig (2008). The coefficient of thrust and the coefficient of power were compared to data provided by Deters and Selig as shown in Figure 5, where the results for both propellers show good agreement.…”

Section: Validation Of the Static Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the propellers were selected to overlap with previous research so that the procedures and test setup used for the measurements could be compared and validated. The GWS 4.5 × 3.0 and 5.0 × 4.3 inch propellers were tested statically and compared to Deters and Selig (2008). An APC 8.0 × 3.8 inch Slow Flyer was tested dynamically and compared to the results posted on the UIUC Propeller Database (Selig, 2012), while an APC 6.0 × 4.0 inch propeller was also tested dynamically and compared to the results presented by Ol et al (2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diameter can then be chosen from plots of thrust versus velocity to produce the required thrust for the airframe. Deters and Selig (2008) performed static tests on smaller propellers ranging from 2.5 ≤ D ≤ 5 inches in diameter. Static coefficients of thrust and power as well as the figure of merit ( √ , typically used to measure the efficiency of helicopters) using modified coefficients of thrust and power that use disk area and tip speed were determined experimentally using a test stand specifically designed to test this size range of propellers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measurement of Static and Dynamic Performance Characteristics of Electric Propulsion Systems

Brezina

2013

51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition

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Today's unmanned aerial vehicles are being utilized by numerous groups around the world for various missions. Most of the smaller vehicles that have been developed use commercially-off-the-shelf parts, and little information about the performance characteristics of the propulsion systems is available in the archival literature. In light of this, the aim of the present research was to determine the performance of various smallscale propellers in the 4.0 to 6.0 inch diameter range driven by an electric motor. An experimental test stand was designed and constructed in which the propeller/electric motor was mounted in a wind tunnel for both static and dynamic testing. Both static and dynamic results from the present experiment were compared to those from previous studies. For static testing, the coefficient of thrust, the coefficient of propeller power, and the overall efficiency, defined as the ratio of the propeller output power to the electrical input power, were plotted versus the propeller rotational speed. For dynamic testing, the rotational speed of the propeller was held constant at regular intervals while the freestream airspeed was increased from zero to the windmill state. The coefficient of thrust, the coefficient of power, the propeller efficiency and the overall efficiency were plotted versus the advance ratio for various rotational speeds. The thrust and torque were found to increase with rotational speed, propeller pitch and diameter, and decrease with airspeed. Using the present data and data from the archival and non-archival sources, it was found that the coefficient of thrust increases with propeller diameter for square iv propellers where D = P. The coefficient of thrust for a family of propellers (same manufacturer and application) was found to have a good correlation from static conditions to the windmill state. While the propeller efficiency was well correlated for this family of propellers, the goodness of fit parameter was improved by modifying the propeller efficiency with D/P.

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Section: Static Test Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Validation Of the Static Testmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Measurement of Static and Dynamic Performance Characteristics of Electric Propulsion Systems

Brezina

2013

51st AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition

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“…The torque of small rotors -estimated below 0.002 N·m -is difficult to measure with a sufficient precision, as is the couple of torque and thrust. Yet, both sets of data are needed to have access to the propulsion set efficiency and the figure of merit (FM) of the rotor.In recent years, several studies [11][12][13] on hovering performance of small rotors or propellers have been reported. However, in most studies, either the test bench was designed for separate measurements of thrust and torque, or the rotational speed and rotor diameter were larger than what is currently necessary for the NAV range.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Test Benches for the Hovering Performance of Nano-Rotors

Liu

Moschetta

Chapman

et al. 2010

International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles

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With the reduction of rotor diameter and motor size, the hovering performance measurement becomes a challenge for rotary wing Nano Air Vehicles (NAVs). Conventional test benches for Micro Aerial Vehicles fail to measure some characteristics of Nano Air Vehicles. In this paper, five test benches with highly sensitive mechanisms were successively designed in order to measure the thrust and torque of nano-rotors simultaneously and respond to the change of variables rapidly with sufficient accuracy. A commercial micro brushless motor and a micro rotor were studied experimentally and computationally at a low Reynolds range from 4,000 to 19,000. Computational and experimental comparisons were carried out and the performance of the test benches was discussed. The analysis suggests that the thrust coefficients measured by each test bench vary little from each other, while the power coefficients present significant differences. Then the hovering performance of the micro rotor and power efficiency of the motor were studied. Degradation of motor efficiency and rotor figure of merit are observed with size reduction associated with NAV applications. [1][2][3][4][5]. At present, more complicated battlefield environments or civilian security situations force soldiers to implement MAVs in urban missions. Therefore, an ever-present need has emerged to improve MAV capabilities, enabling the timely collection of comprehensive intelligence information, particularly on the ground in urban terrain. However, current MAVs are too large to provide situational awareness to the users; consequently, even smaller Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) are required to allow reconnaissance inside buildings, penetration of narrow entries and transmission of data without being detected. Therefore, NAVs [6] were proposed to fulfil such missions. Referring to the definition proposed by DARPA, a NAV is defined as a UAV whose maximum dimension should not exceed 3 inches (7.5 cm) and maximum weight should be less than 10 g. Because of the special requirement of this kind of aerial vehicle, it should be able to autonomously enter buildings, stare, spot targets and transmit data at a fairly low speed or hovering mode. Hence, compared with the conventional MAV, a NAV not only has a smaller size but also the requirement of a low-speed flight and hovering ability. Furthermore, it is expected that NAVs should have an endurance of 20 minutes to complete a recognition mission within a range of less than 1 km. Consequently, the propulsion efficiency becomes a quite important parameter for NAV design. In addition, hovering performance is always a bottleneck for the design of small unmanned air vehicles as a result of the degradation of the aerodynamic performance at low Reynolds numbers. Thus, the hovering performance of NAVs was investigated in this paper. NOMENCLATUREPresently, two concepts are predominately studied in the design of NAVs [7][8][9]. One is the rotary wing; the other is the flapping wing. Previous studies have shown that the rotary-wing conce...

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Unmanned Aircraft Systems Performance in a Climate-Controlled Laboratory

Scanavino

Avi

Vilardi

et al. 2021

J Intell Robot Syst

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Despite many research studies focus on strategies to improve autopilot capabilities and bring artificial intelligence onboard Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), there are still few experimental activities related to these vehicle performance under unconventional weather conditions. Air temperature and altitudes directly affect thrust and power coefficients of small scale propeller for UAS applications. Reynolds numbers are usually within the range 10,000 to 100,000 and important aerodynamic effects, such as the laminar separation bubbles, occur with a negative impact on propulsion performance. The development of autonomous UAS platforms to reduce pilot work-load and allow Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations requires experimental data to validate capabilities of these innovative vehicles. High quality data are needed for a deep understanding of limitations and opportunities of UAS under unconventional flight conditions. The primary objective of this article is to present the characterization of a propeller and a quadrotor capabilities in a pressure-climate-controlled chamber. Mechanical and electrical data are measured with a dedicated test setup over a wide range of temperatures and altitudes. Test results are presented in terms of thrust and power coefficient trends. The experimental data shows low Reynolds numbers are responsible for degraded thrust performance. Moreover, details on brushless motor capabilities are also discussed considering different temperature and pressure conditions. The experimental data collected in the test campaign will be leveraged to improve UAS design, propulsion system modelling as well as to provide guidelines for safe UAS operations in extreme environments.

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Static Testing of Micro Propellers

Cited by 47 publications

References 2 publications

Measurement of Static and Dynamic Performance Characteristics of Electric Propulsion Systems

Measurement of Static and Dynamic Performance Characteristics of Electric Propulsion Systems

Design of Test Benches for the Hovering Performance of Nano-Rotors

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Performance in a Climate-Controlled Laboratory

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