Comprehensive Analysis Modeling of Small-Scale UAS Rotors

Multicopter unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, have experienced explosive sales volume and application growth in recent years. With this growth comes demand for increased performance as the limits of existing technologies are reached. In order to improve the design of multicopter UAS aircraft, better validated performance prediction tools are needed. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at using the rotorcraft comprehensive analysis code CAMRAD II to model a multicopter UAS rotor in hover. Parametric studies were performed to determine the level of fidelity needed in the analysis code inputs to achieve results that match test data. Overall, the results show that CAMRAD II is well suited to model small-scale UAS rotors in hover. This paper presents the results of the parametric studies as well as recommendations for the application of comprehensive analysis codes to multicopter UAS rotors.