Abstract
With the rapid increase in the number of multi-rotor small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in recent years and a plethora of possible applications, the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of these vehicles become very important issues. Due to the limited research on the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of sUAS which include an airframe or support arm, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the flow and acoustic features with the inclusion of said geometry. The influence of rotor orientation—either mounted above or below the airframe—was comprehensively studied through experimental and computational analyses. Detailed experimental investigations—including particle image velocimetry (PIV), pressure transducer readings, and acoustic measurements—were employed to assess the aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of a rotor–airframe system used on typical multirotor sUAS. The results from the computational methodology were also compared to those from the experiment to assess accuracy and possible benefits.
Highlights
Small multirotor Unmanned Aerial Systems, often referred to as drones, have vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities along with good maneuverability that make them an important asset for many applications
The particle image velocimetry (PIV) results were averaged by 100 frames at the same phase angle to extract the dominant trends in the flow field
The wake sheets are relatively flat, suggesting that uniform inflow and blade loading is achieved; these are qualities obtained by rotors with negative twist and taper
Summary
Small multirotor Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS), often referred to as drones, have vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities along with good maneuverability that make them an important asset for many applications. They have received unprecedented attention in the past decade due to their adoption in military usage [1], civil applications [2], and scientific research applications [3,4]. Most studies on multirotor sUAS focus on control and photography functions [5] while little research is related to aerodynamics or aeroacoustics. Aerodynamics, and aeroacoustics of multirotor sUAS should not be disregarded. Data collected by Leishman [8]
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