Abstracts Category : Other

Modeling of Ground Effect Benefits for Multi-Rotor SmallUnmanned Aerial Systems at Hover

by Gina M Eberhart

Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) are gainingprevalence in both the public and private sectors. A proximityinduced phenomenon that produces aerodynamic perturbations as aresult of increased thrust production called Ground Effect (GE)poses a challenge to stable flight for aircraft flying close to theground. GE has been previously examined for full-scale mannedhelicopters, but the effect upon multi-rotor Vertical Take-Off andLanding sUAS requires further investigation. Existing aerodynamicanalysis methods such as Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) havenot considered GE. A Ground Effect modified BEMT power predictionmethod based around the modification of coefficient of thrust wasdeveloped herein. Thrust data for a multi-rotor sUAS propellerwithin GE at select power settings and distances was collected forcomparison with the results of the GE BEMT thrust predictiondeveloped. The thrust prediction method was adapted to model powerrequirements for multi-rotor sUAS at hover within GE. Finally,flight testing of a multi-rotor sUAS was conducted to evaluate theresults of the GE BEMT model. The GE BEMT thrust prediction methodwas found to predict thrust with an average difference of 2.3percent from experimental thrust data. The experimental powerrequirement for the multi-rotor sUAS tested was reduced by morethan 26 pecent within GE. The adaptable GE BEMT model developed wasshown to predict power required for a multi-rotor sUAS vehicle athover within GE.Advisors/Committee Members: Wilhelm, Jay (Advisor).