Multi-Perspective Investigations Based Design Framework of an Electric Propulsion System for Small Electric Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

Numerous attempts have been made to extend the endurance of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by improving their propulsion system. However, due to their non-linear setup, no study has been conducted on small electric UAVs’ architecture framework. This study established a novel propulsion system framework model by analyzing 42 existing UAV electric propulsion systems. The proposed framework-based complicated model includes a new torque factor used to determine the operating current and voltage of the system. This innovative approach improved the model accuracy for the non-linear behavioral nature-based electrical and mechanical systems. The findings include a reduced electrical current usage of up to 84% and an average reduction of 26%. In addition, the investigation also found that the durability of the propulsion systems improved by 53% on average. Similarly, improvements in the trust-to-weight ratio were also established. As a result, a method of propeller matching is presented to facilitate the broad implementation of the proposed framework. The performance of the existing propulsion system was enhanced by using the proposed framework.