Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover
In recent years, the demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) has driven the emergence of new aircraft designs, with the Staggered Rotor System being widely applied in these vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Due to the complex aerodynamic interference between rotors...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Drones |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/11/677 |
| _version_ | 1797459533258293248 |
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| author | He Zhu Siqiang Deng Shaoxiong Wei Hong Nie Xiaohui Wei |
| author_facet | He Zhu Siqiang Deng Shaoxiong Wei Hong Nie Xiaohui Wei |
| author_sort | He Zhu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, the demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) has driven the emergence of new aircraft designs, with the Staggered Rotor System being widely applied in these vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Due to the complex aerodynamic interference between rotors, the spacing between them has a significant impact on the performance of these new aircraft configurations. A testbed was designed and validated to investigate the effects of parameters such as axial distance and lateral distance between rotors on the thrust performance of the Staggered Rotor System. A series of systematic thrust tests was conducted on two co-rotating small-scale rotor models, with particular focus on thrust testing of individual rotors in isolation and their comparison to the conditions of the Staggered Rotor System. During the experimental process, as both the axial and lateral distance varied, an orthogonal experimental design was employed to assess the influence of aerodynamic interactions caused by different rotor diameters on rotor performance. This study conducts an analysis of experimental data to investigate the influence of these factors on the performance of rotor systems’ thrust, while also examining the aerodynamic interference and aerodynamic force evolution patterns of rotor systems under varying parameters. Furthermore, rotor speed also plays a crucial role in the performance of the system. Therefore, when designing vertical take-off and landing aircraft with multiple rotors, it is essential to consider the influence of these factors during the optimization process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:53:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5f48b89579b642d1ad335cc7bb7d6388 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:53:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj.art-5f48b89579b642d1ad335cc7bb7d63882023-11-24T14:38:12ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2023-11-0171167710.3390/drones7110677Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in HoverHe Zhu0Siqiang Deng1Shaoxiong Wei2Hong Nie3Xiaohui Wei4National Key Laboratory of Helicopter Aeromechanics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaCollege of Aerospace Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Helicopter Aeromechanics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fundamental Science for National Defense-Advanced Design Technology of Flight Vehicle, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, ChinaIn recent years, the demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) has driven the emergence of new aircraft designs, with the Staggered Rotor System being widely applied in these vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Due to the complex aerodynamic interference between rotors, the spacing between them has a significant impact on the performance of these new aircraft configurations. A testbed was designed and validated to investigate the effects of parameters such as axial distance and lateral distance between rotors on the thrust performance of the Staggered Rotor System. A series of systematic thrust tests was conducted on two co-rotating small-scale rotor models, with particular focus on thrust testing of individual rotors in isolation and their comparison to the conditions of the Staggered Rotor System. During the experimental process, as both the axial and lateral distance varied, an orthogonal experimental design was employed to assess the influence of aerodynamic interactions caused by different rotor diameters on rotor performance. This study conducts an analysis of experimental data to investigate the influence of these factors on the performance of rotor systems’ thrust, while also examining the aerodynamic interference and aerodynamic force evolution patterns of rotor systems under varying parameters. Furthermore, rotor speed also plays a crucial role in the performance of the system. Therefore, when designing vertical take-off and landing aircraft with multiple rotors, it is essential to consider the influence of these factors during the optimization process.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/11/677aerodynamicspropulsion systemMAVstaggered rotor |
| spellingShingle | He Zhu Siqiang Deng Shaoxiong Wei Hong Nie Xiaohui Wei Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover Drones aerodynamics propulsion system MAV staggered rotor |
| title | Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover |
| title_full | Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover |
| title_short | Experimental Investigation on Thrust Performance of a Small-Scale Staggered Rotor System in Hover |
| title_sort | experimental investigation on thrust performance of a small scale staggered rotor system in hover |
| topic | aerodynamics propulsion system MAV staggered rotor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/7/11/677 |
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