Acoustic characteristics of UAV propeller

Artem Kovtun

Abstract


The subject of this study is the acoustic characteristics of the propeller of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The object of this study is the propeller of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The purpose of this work was to assess the influence of the shape and number of blades on the change in the sound pressure level of the propeller of an unmanned aerial vehicle. To achieve this purpose, the following tasks were solved: modeling the flow in seven two-bladed propellers with different blade shapes; modeling the flow in the propeller of an unmanned aerial vehicle with 2-5 blades. The flow on the propeller was studied using the numerical experiment method. Acoustic characteristics were calculated based on the aerodynamic characteristics of the propeller. The sound pressure level L was estimated in the near-acoustic field for the first six harmonics. Results: The change in the acoustic pressure level for seven propellers of unmanned aerial vehicles with different blade shapes was studied. The peripheral and hub diameters, blade installation angles, and operating modes did not change for any of the studied propeller variants. The analysis of the obtained acoustic characteristics showed that at constant blade installation angles and operating modes, the shape of the blade affected the change in the sound pressure level. A propeller with a wide-chord blade has the worst acoustic characteristics among the studied rotational speeds. The use of a saber-shaped blade did not decrease the acoustic pressure. Sound pressure at a rotating speed of a propeller with a saber-shaped blade ranging from 3000 to 11000 rpm. is the same as the acoustic pressure of propellers with blade shapes No. 5, 6, and 7. The data on changes in the acoustic pressure of propellers with different numbers of blades showed that the number of blades affected the generation of acoustic radiation. As the blades were increased from two to five, the sound pressure level increased by 0.8...3.5 dB. The scientific novelty and practical significance of the conducted research lies in the fact that new data were obtained on the influence of the shape of the propeller blade of an unmanned aerial vehicle on the sound pressure level in the near field. The obtained data will help create and optimizing the parameters of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Keywords


propeller; blade shape; UAV; sound pressure level; flow modeling; near acoustic field; rotation frequency

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32620/aktt.2024.4sup2.02