Hover performance analysis of coaxial Mini unmanned aerial vehicle for applications in mountain terrain
Abstract
Due to its compactness, agility, good hover performance, and ease of carriage, coaxial rotor Mini UAV is apt for various military and civilian applications in mountain terrain. This paper examines various factors to arrive at viable configurations of coaxial rotor Mini UAV for applications in mountain terrain. A consideration of the coaxial rotor Mini UAV to analyse the suitability for mountain terrain is presented. Coaxial rotor design is evaluated to assess the design requirements of mountain terrain. Various design parameters are analysed to arrive at viable design configurations for coaxial rotor Mini UAVs to operate in mountain terrain. Due to mechanical complexities, more than three blades per rotor for a small coaxial rotary wing aircraft is not recommended. The compact frame of the coaxial rotor Mini UAV is a key advantage, so rotor blades with a radius bigger than 1 m are not desirable. With a radius smaller than 1 m, a range of 0.9 m to 1.2 m, and an rotor speed between 900 RPM and 1200 RPM for 3-blade and 2-blade coaxial rotors, the Mini UAV offers a variety of options for applications in mountain terrain.
Keyword : Mini UAS, Mini UAV, UAV design, UAS applications, rotary wing UAV, coaxial rotor Mini UAV
How to Cite
P. S., R., & J. V. Muruga Lal, J. (2022). Hover performance analysis of coaxial Mini unmanned aerial vehicle for applications in mountain terrain. Aviation, 26(2), 112–123. https://doi.org/10.3846/aviation.2022.16901
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Venkatesan, C. (2015). Fundamentals of helicopter dynamics. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3424469
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Yuan, X., & Zhu, J. (2015, January). Comprehensive modeling and analysis of an unmanned coaxial helicopter. In AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference (pp. 1–16). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2015-0593
Arjomandi, M. (2001). Classification of unmanned aerial vehicles. In Mechanical engineering. The University of Adelaide, Australia.
Bohorquez, F. (2007). Rotor Hover performance and system design of an efficient coaxial rotary wing micro air vehicle [dissertation, University of Maryland]. University of Maryland Libraries.
Bohorquez, F., Samuel, P., Sirohi, J., Pines, D., Rudd, L., & Perel, R. (2003). Design, analysis and hover performance of a rotary wing micro air vehicle. Journal of the American Helicopter Society, 48(2), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.4050/JAHS.48.80
Chen, L., & McKerrow, P. (2007). Modelling the lama coaxial helicopter. In Proceedings of the 2007 Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation (pp. 1–9), ACRA 2007. Brisbane.
Cui, J., Wang, F., Qian, Z., Chen, B. M., & Lee, T. H. (2012). Construction and modeling of a variable collective pitch coaxial UAV. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics, 2, 286–291. ICINCO. Rome, Italy. https://doi.org/10.5220/0004039502860291
De Giorgi, M. G., Donateo, T., Ficarella, A., Fontanarosa, D., Morabito, A. E., & Scalinci, L. (2017). Numerical investigation of the performance of contra-rotating propellers for a remotely piloted aerial vehicle. Energy Procedia, 126, 1011–1018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.08.273
Fernandes, S. D. (2017). Performance analysis of a coaxial helicopter in Hover and and forward flight. https://commons.erau.edu/edt
González-Jorge, H., Martínez-Sánchez, J., Bueno, M., & Arias, P. (2017). Unmanned aerial systems for civil applications: A review. Drones, 1(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones1010002
Harrington, R. D. (1951). Full-scale-tunnel investigation of the static-thrust performance of a coaxial helicopter rotor (Technical note). In NACA TN 2318. Defence Technical Information Center.
Harun-Or-Rashid, M., Song, J. B., Byun, Y. S., & Kang, B. S. (2015). Inflow prediction and first principles modeling of a coaxial rotor unmanned aerial vehicle in forward flight. International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 16(4), 614–623. https://doi.org/10.5139/IJASS.2015.16.4.614
Hobbs, A. (2010). Unamnned aircraft systems: UAV design, development and deployment. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374518-7.00016-X
Jha, A. R. (2016). Theory, design, and applications of unmanned aerial vehicles. In Theory, design, and applications of unmanned aerial vehicles. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315371191
Lakshminarayan, V. K., & Baeder, J. D. (2009, January). Computational investigation of small scale coaxial rotor aerodynamics in Hover. In 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition (pp. 1–23). Orlando, Florida. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2009-1069
Lee, T. E. (2010). Design and performance of a ducted coaxial rotor in Hover and forward flight. University of Maryland.
Lei, Y., Ji, Y., & Wang, C. (2018). Optimization of aerodynamic performance for co-axial rotors with different rotor spacings. International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, 10(4), 362–369. https://doi.org/10.1177/1756829318804763
Leishman, J. G., & Ananthan, S. (2008). An optimum coaxial rotor system for axial flight. Journal of the American Helicopter Society, 53(4), 366–381. https://doi.org/10.4050/JAHS.53.366
Leishman, J. G., & Syal, M. (2008). Figure of merit definition for coaxial rotors. Journal of the American Helicopter Society, 53(3), 290–300. https://doi.org/10.4050/JAHS.53.290
Lim, J. W., McAlister, K. W., & Johnson, W. (2009). Hover performance correlation for Full-Scale and model-scale coaxial rotors. Journal of the American Helicopter Society, 54(3). https://doi.org/10.4050/JAHS.54.032005
Mokhtari, M. R., Cherki, B., & Braham, A. C. (2017). Disturbance observer based hierarchical control of coaxial-rotor UAV. ISA Transactions, 67, 466–475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isatra.2017.01.020
Ong, W., Srigrarom, S., & Hesse, H. (2019, 7–11 January). Design methodology for heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles with coaxial rotors. In AIAA Scitech 2019 Forum (pp. 1–13). San Diego, California. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2019-2095
Prior, S. D. (2010). Reviewing and investigating the use of co-axial rotor systems in small UAVs. International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, 2(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1260/1756-8293.2.1.1
Prior, S. D., & Bell, J. C. (2011). Empirical measurements of small unmanned aerial vehicle co-axial rotor systems. Journal of Science and Innovation, 1(1), 1–18.
Prouty, R. W. (2002). Helicopter performance, stability and control. Krieger Publishing Company.
P. S., R., & Jeyan, M. L. (2020). Mini Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV) – a review of the parameters for classification of a Mini UAV. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.15394/ijaaa.2020.1503
Ramasamy, M. (2013). Measurements comparing hover performance of single, coaxial, tandem, and tilt-rotor configurations. In 69th Annual Forum Proceedings – AHS International, 4, 2439–2461. Vertical Flight Society (VFS).
Ramesh, P. S., & Muruga Lal Jeyan, J. V. (2021). Terrain imperatives for Mini unmanned aircraft systems applications. International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIUS-09-2020-0044
Rand, O., & Khromov, V. (2010). Aerodynamic optimization of coaxial rotor in Hover and axial flight. In 27th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences 2010, ICAS 2010, 2, 893–905.
Saito, S., & Azuma, A. (1981). A numerical approach to co-axial rotor aerodynamics. In Seventh European Rotorcraft and Powered Lift Aircraft Forum, 42, 1–18.
Singh, P., & Venkatesan, C. (2013). Experimental performance evaluation of coaxial rotors for a micro aerial vehicle. Journal of Aircraft, 50(5), 1465–1480. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C031971
Thiele, M., Obster, M., & Hornung, M. (2019). Aerodynamic modeling of coaxial counter-rotating UAV propellers. In 8th Biennial Autonomous VTOL Technical Meeting and 6th Annual Electric VTOL Symposium 2019. Mesa, Arizona, USA. The Vertical Flight Society.
US Department of Defense. (2013). Unmanned systems integrated roadmap. Govt of USA (US Department of Defense).
Valavanis, K. P., & Vachtsevanos, G. J. (2015). Military and civilian unmanned aircraft. In Handbook of unmanned aerial vehicles. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9707-1_47
Venkatesan, C. (2015). Fundamentals of helicopter dynamics. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3424469
Wang, F., Cui, J., Chen, B. M., & Lee, T. H. (2015). Flight dynamics modeling of coaxial rotorcraft UAVs. In Handbook of unmanned aerial vehicles. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9707-1
Yana, J., & Rand, O. (2012). Performance analysis of a coaxial rotor system in Hover: Three points of view. In 28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences 2012, ICAS 2012, 2, 1442–1451.
Yuan, X., & Zhu, J. (2015, January). Comprehensive modeling and analysis of an unmanned coaxial helicopter. In AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference (pp. 1–16). American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2015-0593