Analysis of Directional Stability of A Quadcopter for Different Propeller Designs Using Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics Applications

Abstract

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly referred to as drones, have been widely adopted across various industries. Among these, quadcopter is the most popular type of UAV characterized by its four propellers. This study focuses on enhancing quadcopter directional stability through the design and testing of four novel propeller types based on DAE51, MH42, NACA4412, and NLF0115 airfoils. ANSYS Fluent simulations were performed to evaluate the accuracy of propeller performance predictions. Methodology verification conducted using an APC 10x7 propeller demonstrated error rates below 5.2% for thrust coefficients. Experimental analyses were performed in outdoor environment to account for realistic wind effects on propeller performance. The custom-designed propellers were compared to baseline quadcopter propeller. Results indicated no significant discrepancies between desired and observed values for pitch, roll, yaw angles, altitude, or vibration levels. Power consumption tests revealed that NACA4412 and NLF0115 propellers used 7% and 3.6% less power than original propellers, while DAE51 and MH42 propellers consumed 6.7% and 20% more power, respectively. NACA4412 and NLF0115 designs demonstrated particularly favorable performance characteristics, offering improved power efficiency while maintaining excellent directional stability.