Variable Pitch Propeller for UAV-Experimental Tests

Maciej Podsędkowski, Rafał Konopiński, Damian Obidowski and Katarzyna Koter
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Maciej Podsędkowski: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, 90924 Łódź, Poland
Rafał Konopiński: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, 90924 Łódź, Poland
Damian Obidowski: Institute of Turbomachinery, Lodz University of Technology, 90924 Łódź, Poland
Katarzyna Koter: Institute of Machine Tools and Production Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, 90924 Łódź, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: Growth in application fields of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and an increase in their total number are followed by higher and higher expectations imposed on improvements in UAV propulsion and energy management systems. Most commercial vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAVs employ a constant pitch propeller that forces a mission execution tradeoff in the majority of cases. An alternative solution, presented here, consists of the use of a variable pitch propeller. The paper summarizes experimental measurements of the propulsion system equipped with an innovative variable pitch rotor. The investigations incorporated characteristics of the rotor for no wind conditions and a new approach to optimize pitch settings in hover flight as a function of UAV weight and energy consumption. As UAV battery capacity is always limited, efficient energy management is the only way to increase UAV mission performance. The study shows that use of a variable pitch propeller can increase the maximal takeoff weight of the aircraft and improve power efficiency in hover, especially if load varies for different missions. The maximal thrust measured was 31% higher with respect to the original blade settings. The coefficient of thrust during hover showed an increase of 2.6% up to 7.5% for various pitch angles with respect to the original fixed propeller.

Keywords: UAV; variable pitch propeller; drone rotor; energy optimization; drone; experimental aerodynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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