Aerodynamic Analysis of UAV Propeller with Various Angle of Attack Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

In recent times, due to rising demand in numerous industries and drone efficiency in terms of performance, there has been a lot of research and study into drone propellers. In this work, Ansys CFD software was used to investigate the airflow characteristics of the drone propeller. To guarantee excellent performance in various flying states, design characteristics such as propeller radius, propeller rotational speed, number of blades, and angle of attack should be tuned. This research compares three types of propellers with various parameters of the angle of attack and twisting blade. Propeller twisting, also known as wing torsion, occurs when the axis of the span is parallel to the axis of the wing, resulting in a variety of (AOA) angle of attack. To achieve ideal velocities along the propeller blade, the blade twists decrease at the blade’s tip. Because of the twisting blade, propellers can operate at a less or more constant effective angle of attack. The study and results display the values of thrust force, lift, and drag coefficients which were acquired by using Ansys. The design has been tested at three distinct rotational speeds: 4000 rpm, 6000 rpm, and 8000 rpm. The results reveal that the higher the angle of attack and rotating speed, the greater the thrust force.