Aerodynamic Performance of V8 Octorotor MAV with Different Rotor Configurations in Hover

Abstract

A new multirotor aerial vehicle with two rotor arms formed in a V-shape configuration is introduced in this paper. To figure out the aerodynamic interference effects between rotors as an implication of the control method, this paper discusses the aerodynamic performance of the V8 Octorotor MAV with different rotor spacing using both experiments and simulations. A hovering experiment platform is applied to obtain the thrust, power consumption and rotational speed. PL (power loading) is promoted to characterize the aerodynamic performance of the V8 Octorotor MAV. The velocity vector, streamline and turbulent vortices’ distribution of the V8 Octorotor MAV are presented as the simulation results, which indicates that turbulence intensity generated by the MAV dissipates faster in a large rotor spacing. Therefore, rotor vibration is reduced with an increased hovering stability, and the power loading is much improved at G3 (1.2D–1.4D–1.6D–1.8D) with a better aerodynamic performance both with a thrust increment and power decrement.