A family of MAV drives investigation

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A critical overview of a family of drives designed for MAV purposes was conducted. In the family of drives ducted and non-ducted solutions of two counter-rotating and single propeller systems were tested. Rotor diameter for those propulsion systems were 54 mm. All drives were manufactured by means of rapid prototyping methods (SLS) with final surface treatment to improve both structural and aerodynamic properties. Material structure and shape reconstruction were tomographically investigated. Drives were tested on dedicated test rig with force measurement capability for individual propulsion system element, Individual (per drive) power consumption was recorded. Parallel CFD computations were conducted to quantify i visualise flow properties such as velocity, pressure, turbulence and vorticity fields. A PIV measurements allowing for experimental flow quantification were finally performed. Family of drives comparison gives an overview of an influence of various configurations and solutions for propulsion system efficiency in this low-Reynolds number flow regime and the potential for RPM methods to manufacture this unique solutions.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 4, Advanced Manufacturing, Electronics and Microsystems: TechConnect Briefs 2015
Published: June 14, 2015
Pages: 47 - 50
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Advanced Manufacturing
ISBN: 978-1-4987-4730-1