Aerodynamic interference analysis for a nonoverlapping multirotor UAV based on dynamic vortex tube

Abstract

With the wide application of unmanned aerial vehicles, interest in multirotor configurations has increased. The unique features of multirotor configuration have been intensely investigated, including aerodynamic interference, which is particularly important because it influences the vibration, noise, and handling quality of rotorcraft. Most previous studies have used high-fidelity approaches, such as computational fluid dynamics to identify such interference. However, such an approach is inappropriate for real-time flight simulations. In this study, an improved aerodynamic interference analysis based on a dynamic vortex tube was established for performance prediction in real-time flight simulation. A simple and effective formulation is proposed for integration with rotor aerodynamics to evaluate the interference of multirotor configurations. The present analysis is validated on various multirotor configurations. An investigation of interference in a multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is then presented. The analysis results exhibit good agreement with experimental results and high-fidelity predictions. Although the accuracy of the proposed analysis is lower than that of experimental studies and high-fidelity analyses, it is sufficient for capturing interference trends. The proposed analysis can account for aerodynamic interference in the flight simulation of a multirotor UAV.