Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance with Vertical Offset

Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance with Vertical Offset

Presenter(s)

Michael Foster

Comments

1:00-1:20, Kennedy Union 311

Description

Positioning the aft rotors of a multirotor above the plane of the fore rotors, relative to the freestream, can improve power consumption efficiency in edgewise flight. To validate the results of a previous wind tunnel study at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT) with flight tests, a custom-built multirotor was developed. The multirotor accommodated multiple vertical offset configurations of the aft rotors and utilized GPS to sustain altitude and velocity in edgewise flight, thereby ensuring repeatable flight paths. The mass of the multirotor was held constant throughout the tests to isolate the effects of vertical offset on performance. Flight tests were performed for multiple flight speed and vertical offset configurations under calm ambient conditions, as recorded by a custom-built anemometer and wind-direction sensor. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to further investigate certain trends identified in flight testing and to validate their underlying causes.Flight test data confirmed the findings of the previous wind tunnel data, demonstrating a clear correlation between vertical offset of the rear rotors and improved power consumption efficiency. Specifically, at advance ratios between 0.15 and 0.45, a vertical offset of 20% of the propeller diameter led to more than a 15% reduction in power consumption as compared to a baseline configuration without offset. Additional increases in the vertical offset above 20% of the propeller diameter yielded only minimal further efficiency gains. These findings affirm the practicality of using vertical rotor offset to improve multirotor efficiency while maintaining a compact design.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Sid Gunasekaran

Primary Advisor's Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords

Stander Symposium, School of Engineering

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship

Flight Test Validation of Tandem Propeller Performance with Vertical Offset

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