Aerodynamic Interference in Confined Environments with Tilted Propellers: Wall Effect and Corner Effect

Abstract

Inspection and maintenance tasks are increasingly being carried out by multi-rotor platforms in order to avoid certain risks being taken by humans. In this way, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the aerodynamic effects that occur when tasks are performed in confined environments. In addition, the use of tilted rotors is becoming more and more widespread for tasks that require direct contact with a surface. In that sense, this paper presents several numerical simulations to analyse the aerodynamic performance of tilted rotors. In particular, the wall effect and the corner effect will be shown in detail. Two different configurations are considered in the corner effect: straight and curved corner. The influence of the corner and the wall has been studied for three tilt angles $\left(\theta=\mathbf{2 0}^{\circ}, \mathbf{3 0}^{\circ}, \mathbf{4 0}^{\circ}\right)$ and various distances between the rotor and the wall. Flow field visualization is depicted to understand the physical behaviour of the airflow.