Flight test validation of tandem propeller performance with vertical offset
Foster, Michael DeMoor, Jessica Gunasekaran, Sidaard Cai, Jielong
Foster, Michael
DeMoor, Jessica
Gunasekaran, Sidaard
Cai, Jielong
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Digitization Date
Issue Date
2025-01-03
Type
Conference paper
Genre
Keywords
Flight testing,Propeller performance,Multirotor,Low speed wind tunnel,Pitching moment,Anemometer,Flight stability,Aerospace engineering,Tandem rotor,Maximum takeoff weight
Subjects (LCSH)
Citation
Michael Foster, Jessica DeMoor, Sidaard Gunasekaran and Jielong Cai. "Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance With Vertical Offset," AIAA 2025-1445. AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum. January 2025.
Abstract
Strategic placement of the rotors in a non-planar configuration in a multirotor vehicle can improve power efficiency. We extend our wind tunnel study on the investigation of the negatively staggered tandem propeller performance, aiming to validate the results through flight tests. The previous study conducted at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) showed a power-saving benefit for the negatively staggered propeller configuration. An in-house-built flight test platform with various vertical propeller displacements was designed, built, and flown successfully in the current study. Flight test data confirmed up to 18% power saving for the negatively staggered propeller configuration when compared to the traditional non-staggered configuration, indicating the potential of the negatively staggered propeller configuration for practical applications. Furthermore, flight test data indicated that, at vertical offsets above 0.2dz, any increased power saving is minimal.
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Description
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
Journal
Book Title
Series
AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition, AIAA SciTech Forum 2025
6 January 2025 through 10 January 2025
Orlando
325579
6 January 2025 through 10 January 2025
Orlando
325579