Design of a Thrust Controller for Propeller Driven Systems Operating at Multiple Wind Velocities and Propeller Angular Velocities

Abstract

The objective of this study was to achieve thrust control of a propeller propulsion system with two rotor blades rotated by a motor. Previously reported thrust control methods employ constant thrust coefficients or variable thrust coefficients as functions of the rate of progression. However, these methods resulted in thrust response errors with changes in the propeller angular velocity or wind speed. Therefore, this study established a method wherein the thrust coefficient in the controller is a function of the angular velocity of the propeller and wind speed. The effectiveness of the proposed thrust controller was verified experimentally and through simulation. The results indicated that the proposed method provided relatively better thrust control performance under multiple wind conditions.