Design of an Apparatus for Wind Tunnel Tests of Electric

138 Pages·2015·4.15 MB·English

by  Andre C. Marta

Design of an Apparatus for Wind Tunnel Tests of Electric
UAV Propulsion Systems
Miguel Marques Borges
Thesis to obtain the Master of Science Degree in
Mechanical Engineering
Supervisors: Prof. André Calado Marta
Prof. Virgínia Isabel Monteiro Nabais Infante
Examination Committee
Chairperson: Prof. Luis Manuel Varejão Oliveira Faria
Supervisor: Prof. André Calado Marta
MemberCommittee: Prof. Luís Alberto Gonçalves de Sousa
June 2015
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Tomyparentsfortheirunconditionalsupport.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, to my Supervisors, Prof. Andre´ Marta and Prof. Virg´ınia Infante for their patience,
supportandhelpthatgavemethroughoutthetimeittookmetocompletethisthesis. Aspecialwordof
thankstoProf. Andre´ Martaforhiseffortontryingtomakethisthesisauniqueworkbutalsotoimprove
mysoftandtechnicalskills.
Tomyparents: myfatherwhowasalwaysanexampletomeasahardworkerandmymotherforthe
unconditionally love and support which always allowed me to embrace my projects and passions. Also
thankstomygirlfriendMałgorzataOgo´rekforherpatience,loveandsupportatalltime.
To all my friends, for their love and support that accompanied me at all times. A special thanks to
Luis Prior, Marco Roda, Carlos Branco and Joa˜o Batista that were always available at any time to help
me. Alsotoallmyotherfriendsthatdidnotmentionbutwerenolessimportantinanyway.
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Resumo
Aprocuradefontesenerge´ticasalternativastemcrescidonosu´ltimosanos. Amudanc¸aparaaenergia
ele´trica ja´ pode ser vista na industria automo´vel, e a indu´stria aerona´utica esta´ lentamente a seguir o
mesmo caminho. Esta tese foca-se no projeto, construc¸a˜o e validac¸a˜o de um sistema capaz de testar
sistemas propulsivos ele´tricos capazes de serem utilizados em aeronaves na˜o tripuladas. O sistema
desenvolvidofoiumbancodeensaioscapazdetestarmotoresele´ctricosacopoladosahe´licescomum
diaˆmetro ma´ximo de 27 polegadas. O sistema de medic¸a˜o instalado no banco de ensaios e´ flex´ıvel o
suficiente para ser capaz de efectuar medic¸o˜es de diferentes gamas geradas por diferentes sistemas
propulsivos. O aparato experimental foi instalado dentro do tunel de vento aero-acustico do IST, para
permitir efectuar ensaios em condic¸o˜es dinaˆmicas e esta´ticas. Todo o projecto mecaˆnico efectuado
teveemcontaoslimitesdemedic¸a˜oestudadospreviamentedeacordocomosdadosfornecidospelos
fabricantesdehe´lices. Pormeiodestebancodeensaiose´ poss´ıvelgerarosdadosrelativosaosistema
propulsivo deuma maneira simplese flexivel. Para isto foidesenhado o sistemade interface para que
outilizadorpossateracessoatodososdadosgeradospelosistemapropulsivoemtemporeal,masao
mesmotempopossatambe´mguardarosmesmosparaposteriorprocessamento
Palavras-chave:
UAV,Propulsa˜oEle´ctrica,BancodeEnsaios,Tu´neldeVento,Aquisic¸a˜ode
Dados,
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Abstract
Thedemandforalternativeenergysourceshasgrowninrecentyears. Theshifttoelectricitycanalready
be seen in the automotive industry, and the aviation industry is slowly follow the same path. This the-
sis focuses on the design, construction and validation of a system to test electrical propulsive systems
capable of being used in unmanned aerial aircraft. The system developed was a test rig capable of
testing electric motors with propellers with a maximum diameter of 27 inches. The measuring system
installed on the test rig flexible enough to be able to perform measurements of different ranges gen-
erated by different propulsive systems. The experimental apparatus was installed in the aero-acoustic
wind tunnel IST that allows out tests in a dynamic and static environment. All the mechanical design
take into account the measurement limits previously studied according to data provided the propeller
manufacturers. Throughthistestbenchitispossibletogeneratethedataforthepropulsionsystemina
simpleandflexibleway. Forthis, itwascreatedaninterfacesothattheusercanhaveaccesstoallthe
generated data by the propulsion system in real time, but at the same time can also store that data for
furtherpostprocessing.
Keywords:
UAV, Electric Propulsion, Test Rig, Wind Tunnel. Propeller Performance, Data Ac-
quisition
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