Work

Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The present work is aimed at investigating the arrangement design of an inner tilted-rotor hexacopter to optimize aerodynamic performance with different rotor spacing ratios (s/D) and dihedral angles (β). Both experiments and numerical simulations were applied for different rotor arrangements, and the better rotor agreement was related to both higher thrust and lower power consumption. The results show that hovering efficiency is mainly affected by rotor spacing ratios and dihedral angles. Appropriate rotor spacing with moderate rotor interference from the blade tip vortices, as well as downwash flow, reduce vortex distortion and fragmentation. The results show that a hexacopter with inner tilted-rotors obtains a larger thrust and smaller power with a high factor of merit (FM) at s/D = 1.6 and β = 40°, and this is considered to be the optimal arrangement for a hexacopter with excellent aerodynamic characteristics.

Source: Aerospace

DOI: 10.3390/aerospace12040317

Authors: Yao Lei, Chunfeng Luan

Institution: Fuzhou University

Language: English

Topic: Aerospace and Aviation Technology

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China