Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering

The present work is aimed at investigating the arrangement design of an inner tilted-rotor hexacopter to optimize aerodynamic performance with different rotor spacing ratios (<i>s</i>/<i>D</i>) and dihedral angles (<i>β</i>). Both experiments and numerical simulat...

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Main Authors: Yao Lei, Chunfeng Luan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Aerospace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/317
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author Yao Lei
Chunfeng Luan
author_facet Yao Lei
Chunfeng Luan
author_sort Yao Lei
collection DOAJ
description The present work is aimed at investigating the arrangement design of an inner tilted-rotor hexacopter to optimize aerodynamic performance with different rotor spacing ratios (<i>s</i>/<i>D</i>) and dihedral angles (<i>β</i>). Both experiments and numerical simulations were applied for different rotor arrangements, and the better rotor agreement was related to both higher thrust and lower power consumption. The results show that hovering efficiency is mainly affected by rotor spacing ratios and dihedral angles. Appropriate rotor spacing with moderate rotor interference from the blade tip vortices, as well as downwash flow, reduce vortex distortion and fragmentation. The results show that a hexacopter with inner tilted-rotors obtains a larger thrust and smaller power with a high factor of merit (<i>FM</i>) at <i>s</i>/<i>D</i> = 1.6 and <i>β</i> = 40°, and this is considered to be the optimal arrangement for a hexacopter with excellent aerodynamic characteristics.
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publisher MDPI AG
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spelling doaj-art-ef624da104f84af5985725091ed3fedc2025-08-20T03:14:24ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-04-0112431710.3390/aerospace12040317Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During HoveringYao Lei0Chunfeng Luan1School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, ChinaThe present work is aimed at investigating the arrangement design of an inner tilted-rotor hexacopter to optimize aerodynamic performance with different rotor spacing ratios (<i>s</i>/<i>D</i>) and dihedral angles (<i>β</i>). Both experiments and numerical simulations were applied for different rotor arrangements, and the better rotor agreement was related to both higher thrust and lower power consumption. The results show that hovering efficiency is mainly affected by rotor spacing ratios and dihedral angles. Appropriate rotor spacing with moderate rotor interference from the blade tip vortices, as well as downwash flow, reduce vortex distortion and fragmentation. The results show that a hexacopter with inner tilted-rotors obtains a larger thrust and smaller power with a high factor of merit (<i>FM</i>) at <i>s</i>/<i>D</i> = 1.6 and <i>β</i> = 40°, and this is considered to be the optimal arrangement for a hexacopter with excellent aerodynamic characteristics.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/317aerodynamicCFDdihedral anglehexacoptertilted-rotor
spellingShingle Yao Lei
Chunfeng Luan
Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
Aerospace
aerodynamic
CFD
dihedral angle
hexacopter
tilted-rotor
title Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
title_full Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
title_fullStr Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
title_full_unstemmed Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
title_short Aerodynamic Analysis of a Hexacopter with an Inner Tilted-Rotor Configuration During Hovering
title_sort aerodynamic analysis of a hexacopter with an inner tilted rotor configuration during hovering
topic aerodynamic
CFD
dihedral angle
hexacopter
tilted-rotor
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/317
work_keys_str_mv AT yaolei aerodynamicanalysisofahexacopterwithaninnertiltedrotorconfigurationduringhovering
AT chunfengluan aerodynamicanalysisofahexacopterwithaninnertiltedrotorconfigurationduringhovering