Journal of Bionic Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (4): 824-839.doi: 10.1007/s42235-021-0069-0

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A Biomimetic Rotor-configuration Design for Optimal Aerodynamic Performance in Quadrotor Drone

Yi Li1, Koichi Yonezawa2, Ru Xu1, Hao Liu1*   

  1. 1. Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
    2. Civil Engineering Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 
    1646 Abiko, Abiko-shi, 270-1194, Japan

  • 收稿日期:2021-02-10 修回日期:2021-05-13 接受日期:2021-06-16 出版日期:2021-07-10 发布日期:2021-12-03
  • 通讯作者: Hao Liu E-mail:hliu@faculty.chiba-u.jp
  • 作者简介:Yi Li1, Koichi Yonezawa2, Ru Xu1, Hao Liu1*

A Biomimetic Rotor-configuration Design for Optimal Aerodynamic Performance in Quadrotor Drone

Yi Li1, Koichi Yonezawa2, Ru Xu1, Hao Liu1*   

  1. 1. Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
    2. Civil Engineering Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 
    1646 Abiko, Abiko-shi, 270-1194, Japan

  • Received:2021-02-10 Revised:2021-05-13 Accepted:2021-06-16 Online:2021-07-10 Published:2021-12-03
  • Contact: Hao Liu E-mail:hliu@faculty.chiba-u.jp
  • About author:Yi Li1, Koichi Yonezawa2, Ru Xu1, Hao Liu1*

摘要: Motivated by optimal combination of paired wings configuration and stroke-plane inclination in biological flapping flights that can achieve high aerodynamic performance, we propose a biomimetic rotor-configuration design to explore optimal aerodynamic performance in multirotor drones. While aerodynamic interactions among propellers in multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) play a crucial role in lift force production and Figure of Merit (FM) efficiency, the rotor-configuration effect remains poorly understood. Here we address a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based study on optimal aerodynamic performance of the rotor-configuration in hovering quadrotor drones with a specific focus on the aerodynamic effects of tip distance, height difference and tilt angle of propellers. Our results indicate that the tip distance-induced interactions can most alter lift force production and hence lead to remarked improvement in FM, and the height difference also plays a key role in improving aerodynamic performance, while the tilt angle effect is less important. Furthermore, we carried out an extensive analysis to explore the optimal aerodynamic performance of the rotor-configuration over a broad parameter space, by combining the CFD-based simulations and a novel surrogate model. We find that a rotor-configuration with a large tip distance and some height difference with zero tilt angle is capable of optimizing both lift force production and FM, which could offer a novel optimal design as well as maneuver strategy for multirotor UAVs.


关键词: bioinspiration, optimal quadrotor configuration, aerodynamic interactions, aerodynamic performance, CFD, surrogate modeling

Abstract: Motivated by optimal combination of paired wings configuration and stroke-plane inclination in biological flapping flights that can achieve high aerodynamic performance, we propose a biomimetic rotor-configuration design to explore optimal aerodynamic performance in multirotor drones. While aerodynamic interactions among propellers in multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) play a crucial role in lift force production and Figure of Merit (FM) efficiency, the rotor-configuration effect remains poorly understood. Here we address a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based study on optimal aerodynamic performance of the rotor-configuration in hovering quadrotor drones with a specific focus on the aerodynamic effects of tip distance, height difference and tilt angle of propellers. Our results indicate that the tip distance-induced interactions can most alter lift force production and hence lead to remarked improvement in FM, and the height difference also plays a key role in improving aerodynamic performance, while the tilt angle effect is less important. Furthermore, we carried out an extensive analysis to explore the optimal aerodynamic performance of the rotor-configuration over a broad parameter space, by combining the CFD-based simulations and a novel surrogate model. We find that a rotor-configuration with a large tip distance and some height difference with zero tilt angle is capable of optimizing both lift force production and FM, which could offer a novel optimal design as well as maneuver strategy for multirotor UAVs.


Key words: bioinspiration, optimal quadrotor configuration, aerodynamic interactions, aerodynamic performance, CFD, surrogate modeling