Forward Flight System Identification for an Electric Medium-Sized Variable-Rotational Speed Rotor
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Title
Vertical Flight Society 80th Annual Forum and Technology Display
Abstract
The Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle (JTARV) project is supporting the expansion of the Army's unmanned aerial reconnaissance capability by working to obtain high-quality test data that is scarce for group 2 and group 3 UAVs to validate physics-based models. This paper will evaluate the system identification results from transient testing at a wind tunnel speed of 29.2 kts (15 m/s) of the commercial off the shelf T-motor '28x9.2' rotor which is used on the TRV-80 platform, a group 3 UAV. Rotor angles of attack of -90◦ to 0◦, which represent climb to edgewise flight respectively, were tested in the wind tunnel. Chirp Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) sweep inputs that varied the ∆PWM amplitude by 50, 100, and 150 (approximately 3%, 6%, and 10% of the steady state PWM) were analyzed to derive an electric motor model that can be used in a physics-based simultion. Additionally, it was found that the identified coefficients of thrust and torque were higher in transient condtions versus steady for most angle of attack test condtions. Lastly, the closed loop wind tunnel system, thrust due to ∆PWM amplitude sweep, was compared to the closed loop system of the TRV-80. A similar motor lag frequency was identified in both systems which shows the relevance of the electric motor model and rotor performance data derived from wind tunnel data preseneted herein.
Funding Sponsor
University of Maryland
Department
Aviation and Technology
Recommended Citation
Emily D. Glover, Radu Teodorescu, Matthew Floros, Mark J.S. Lopez, Tom Berger, and Ashwani K. Padthe. "Forward Flight System Identification for an Electric Medium-Sized Variable-Rotational Speed Rotor" Vertical Flight Society 80th Annual Forum and Technology Display (2024).
