Impact of Rotor–Airframe Orientation on the Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Characteristics of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

Abstract

With the rapid increase in the number of multi-rotor small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in recent years and a plethora of possible applications, the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of these vehicles become very important issues. Due to the limited research on the aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of sUAS which include an airframe or support arm, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the flow and acoustic features with the inclusion of said geometry. The influence of rotor orientation—either mounted above or below the airframe—was comprehensively studied through experimental and computational analyses. Detailed experimental investigations—including particle image velocimetry (PIV), pressure transducer readings, and acoustic measurements—were employed to assess the aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of a rotor–airframe system used on typical multirotor sUAS. The results from the computational methodology were also compared to those from the experiment to assess accuracy and possible benefits.