The Effect of Rotors on the Aerodynamic Loads of a Quadrotor Fuselage

Understanding the complex interactions between rotors and the fuselage is essential for designing the flight control system for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This paper investigates the effect of rotors on the aerodynamic load of a quadcopter fuselage based on computational fluid dynamics simulations. Fuselage and the whole drone’s aerodynamics loads are studied along with the steady and transient-state simulation. Comparison between the plain fuselage and whole quadcopter was based on the computation results from different operating airspeeds and tilt angles. Drag coefficient was merely influenced, and in contrast, the rotors’ motion influenced the lift coefficient. Reasons for the impact of the rotor on the fuselage’s aerodynamic loads are discussed. Future work improvement and concluding of the analysis are presented.