Monocoque Multirotor Airframe Design with Rotor Orientations Optimized for Direct 6-DoF UAV Flight Control
James Strawson, Pengcheng Cao, Danny Tran, Thomas Bewley, Falko Kuester · AIAA AVIATION 2021 FORUM · 2021
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2021-2431.vid The search and rescue purposes of many VTOL UAVs are needed but there has been hardly new non-control research efforts recently improving the UAVs' flight agility and ability to survive in those hostile post-disaster environment. This paper introduces the design and analysis of a class of multirotor airframes with the capability of in-plane maneuverability and direct decoupled 6-DoF control which allow for low profile sensor payload integration without the need for a gimbal as well as predictable and safe flight in confined spaces such as tunnels and collapsed buildings. The case study of a hexrotor airframe is presented with its layout optimized via the methodology from the authors' previous work. The actuator combinations are tested and selected based on the performance metrics defined by authors, and utilized to restart the layout optimization. The aerodynamic performance of the platform is evaluated in several closed-quarter flight scenarios using CFD and compared with that of other airframe configurations. The structure of the single hollow monocoque shell is proposed and validated to obtain the desired shell thickness for the monocoque frame based on modal analyses and finite element methods. Finally, the flight controller developed by the authors is implemented and initial flight tests are conducted to validate the full actuation and a few more flight tests are to be done in the near future.