A new test and identification method of MAV electric propulsion unit

Acquisition of accurate performance parameters in MAV electric propulsion unit is the precondition of designing flight control system. In this paper we establish a test system for MAV electric propulsion unit on the basis of LabWindows/CVI, and carry on research of parameter identification combined with MATLAB system identification toolbox. It is reasonable to suppose the electric propulsion unit to be a second-order object, thus a simplified SISO transfer function model can be provided. The online test for a certain type of electric propulsion unit is conducted by transmitting multi-channel acquisition data through the crossover cable to the computer and parsing out time variable dynamic curve of thrust and torque. According to the test data, we can obtain offline identification and online identification respectively. The experimental results show the higher precision, better real-time performance and lower cost, and such test system with many functions like file transfer, dynamic display and rapid identification can replace traditional instruments for test and identification of electric propulsion unit.