横風及びシュラウド設置高さがドローン用プロペラの推力特性に与える影響

抄録

This study investigated the effects of crosswind and shroud mounting heights on the thrust characteristics of a shroud and a propeller for a drone using wind tunnel experiments. The shroud mounting height h_t/h_r was varied from 0 to 0.75 (with h_t being the distance between the height of the top of a shroud and the height of the tips of the propeller and h_r being the length of the inlet part of the shroud). Three kinds of shrouds were tested, and crosswind speeds of 0, 2, and 5 m/s were set in the wind tunnel. All required aerodynamic data were obtained using a 6-component balance. The results showed using an elliptical inlet shroud at a crosswind speed of 2 m/s provided the highest thrust at each shroud mounting height compared to other combinations of shrouds and crosswind speeds. In all shroud cases, as the h_t/h_r increased, the total thrust on the shroud and the propeller, the power output of the motor, and the efficiency of the propeller with a shroud generally increased. In contrast, the thrust on a propeller was independent of the h_t/h_r. Therefore, the thrust improvement from the shroud mounting is considered to be due to the increase in thrust on the shroud, which is caused by a decrease in pressure in the vicinity of the shroud inlet part.