Effective estimation for UAV propeller performance

A new effective propeller performance estimation method is employed to calculate the propeller performance in the preliminary design of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The propeller three-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics leading to the blade tip vortices are considered to improve the blade element theory. The rule of the airfoil lift coefficient is summarized to enhance the calculation speed and the universality of this method. Then, wind tunnel test data of the propellers are used to verify the correctness of the approach. The error is less than 9%, which is accurate enough in the preliminary design of UAVs. Sensitivity analysis is carried out with the variable empirical parameters, and the values of which only have slight influence on the calculated results. Compared with the strip theory, the proposed method avoids a very high number of iterations and complicated integral. Furthermore, only a few measurable data are needed to get a relatively accurate result. The calculation examples demonstrate excellent effectiveness in obtaining the propeller performance to improve the design of UAVs.