Effect of Ducted Multi-Propeller Configuration on Aerodynamic Performance in Quadrotor Drone

Motivated by a bioinspired optimal aerodynamic design of a multi-propeller configuration, here we propose a ducted multi-propeller design to explore the improvement of lift force production and FM efficiency in quadrotor drones through optimizing the ducted multi-propeller configuration. We first conducted a CFD-based study to explore a high-performance duct morphology in a ducted single-propeller model in terms of aerodynamic performance and duct volume. The effect of a ducted multi-propeller configuration on aerodynamic performance is then investigated in terms of the tip distance and the height difference of propellers under a hovering state. Our results indicate that the tip distance-induced interactions have a noticeable effect in impairing the lift force production and FM efficiency but are limited to small tip distances, whereas the height difference-induced interactions have an impact on enhancing the aerodynamic performance over a certain range. An optimal ducted multi-propeller configuration with a minimal tip distance and an appropriate height difference was further examined through a combination of CFD simulations and a surrogate model in a broad-parameter space, which enables a significant improvement in both lift force production and FM efficiency for the multirotor, and thus provides a potential optimal design for ducted multirotor UAVs.

Aeroacoustic characteristics of owl-inspired blade designs in a mixed flow fan: effects of leading- and trailing-edge serrations

There is an increasing need in industry for noise reduction in fans. Inspired by owls' silent flight, we propose four owl-inspired blade designs for a mixed-flow fan to examine whether leading-edge (LE) and/or trailing-edge (TE) serrations can resolve the tradeoff between sound suppression and aerodynamic performance. We investigate the blades' aeroacoustic characteristics through various experimental methods and large-eddy simulation (LES)-based numerical analyses. Experimental results suggest that 'slotted', simply-fabricated LE serrations can achieve a lowering of the noise level while sustaining the aerodynamic performance of the fan, whereas TE serrations fail. In addition, the inclination angle can improve LE serration performance in aeroacoustic and aerodynamic performance with a reduction in the specific noise level by around 1.4 dB. LES results and noise spectral analysis indicate that the LE serrations can suppress flow separation, reducing the broadband noise at low-to-middle frequencies (40-4k Hz). This passive-flow-control mechanism, likely due to local higher incidence angles associated with LE serrations, is capable of alleviating the intensive pressure gradient while suppressing wall-pressure fluctuations over the LE region, hence weakening the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The tonal noise also shows a marked reduction at the highest peak frequency associated with fan-vane interaction. Moreover, we find that the high-frequency noise by-product radiates mainly from the LE serrations andsurroundings, due to the small eddies broken up when the vortical flows pass through the LE serrations. Our results demonstrate that the biomimetic design of the LE serrations can facilitate the break-up of LE vortices passively and effectively without negatively impacting aerodynamic performance, which can be utilized as an effective device to improve the aeroacoustic performance of fan blades.

Effects of Reynolds Number and Distribution on Passive Flow Control in Owl-Inspired Leading-Edge Serrations

As a sophisticated micro device for noise reduction, the owl-inspired leading-edge (LE) serrations have been confirmed capable of achieving passive control of laminar-turbulent transition while normally paying a cost of lowering the aerodynamic performance in low Reynolds number (Re∼O[103]) regime. In order to explore potential applications of the owl-inspired serrated airfoils or blades in developing low noise wind turbines or multi-copters normally operating at higher Res, we conducted a large-eddy simulation (LES)-based study of Re effects on the aerodynamic performance of 2D clean and serrated models. Our results show that the LE serrations keep working effectively in mitigating turbulent fluctuations over a broad range of Re (O[103] ∼ O[105]), capable of achieving marked improvement in lift-to-drag ratio with increasing Res. As the aeroacoustic fields are in close association with the propagation of the turbulence sources, it is observed that the tradeoff between passive mitigation of turbulent fluctuations (hence aeroacoustic noise suppression) and aerodynamic performance can be noticeably mitigated at large angles of attack (AoAs) and at high Res. This indicates that the LE serrations present an alternative passive flow control mechanism at high Res through a straightforward local excitation of the flow transition while capable of mitigating the turbulent intensity passively. We further developed a 3D LES model of clean and partially serrated rectangular wings to investigate the effects of the LE serrations' distribution on aerodynamic features, on the basis of the observation that longer serrations are often distributed intensively in the mid-span of real owl's feathers. We find that the mid-span distributed LE serrations can facilitate the break-up of LE vortices and the turbulent transition passively and effectively while achieving a low level of turbulence kinetic energy over the upper suction surface of the wing.

Three-DoF Flapping-Wing Robot with Variable-Amplitude Link Mechanism

This paper describes the development of a three-degrees-of-freedom flapping-wing robot with a variable-amplitude link mechanism for controlling the lift and thrust forces acting on it. The variable-amplitude link mechanism comprises a lever-crank mechanism driven by a brushless DC motor and a linear actuator to control the amplitude of the flapping angle. The robot also comprises two DC motors with reduction gears for feathering and lead-lag motion. In our experiments, the measurement of force-torque revealed the effects of the motion of each wing. We found that the flapping-amplitude difference between the left and right wings causes a roll and yaw moment.

Centipede Type Robot i-CentiPot: From Machine to Creatures

In this study, we have developed a centipede-like multi-legged robot named i-CentiPot. This robot was developed to demonstrate our concept presented in the CREST project. In the project, we show that the existence of implicit control is important. i-CentiPot plays the part of the anchor example for our project.*

* This article is a translation from the article: K. Osuka et al., “Centipede type robot i-CentiPot: From machine to creatures,” The 8th Conf. of Transdisciplinary Federation of Science and Technology, D-2-4, 2017 (in Japanese).