Wake Propagation and Characteristics of a Multi-Rotor Unmanned Vehicle in Forward Flight

Drones

Christopher Michael Hocut¹  Glen Throneberry²  Adam Takeshita²  Abdessattar Abdelkefi²  Fangjun Shu² 

[1] DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, White Sands Missile Range, NM 88002, USA;Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA;

关键词: multi-rotor;    wake propagation;    smoke testing;    PIV;    proximity effects;    forward flight;   

DOI  :  10.3390/drones6050130

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In this study, experimental investigations are used to explore the wake propagation and characteristics of a multi-rotor unmanned air vehicle (UAV) in a forward flight mission. Qualitative smoke visualization is used first to gain a qualitative understanding of wake characteristics above and below the body of the multi-rotor UAV which is used as guidance for quantitative particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments which better resolve the region in the vicinity of the multi-rotor UAV body. The experimental results over a wide range of advance ratios show that as the advance ratio increases, achieved by either lower rotor speeds or higher flight speeds, the distance by which the wake propagates below the UAV is reduced. While above the UAV, the flow returns to the freestream flow closer to the body as the advance ratio increases. Therefore, this study concludes that proximity effects are reduced as the advance ratio increases. Findings from this study can be used to inform in situ sensor placement so that sensor readings are minimally affected by the wake from the multi-rotor UAV. Velocity measurement corrections are provided for sensors mounted above the UAV which can be used to improve sensor data reliability in forward flight. These results can advance autonomous sensing and increase the utility of multi-rotor UAV observations while providing designers and users further guidance to avoid proximity effects.

【 授权许可】

Unknown