Design and Analysis of a Bladeless Drone

Abstract

With the rapid growth of the global drone market, drone safety has become a matter of prime importance. Among drone accidents, propeller-based injuries dominate both in the frequency of occurrence and the severity of the damage, making conventional drones unfeasible for indoor flights. The need for a design that is safe for indoor flights while retaining the utilities of a conventional multi-copter is rising. The proposed bladeless penta-copter consists of a central housing, inspired by the Coandă effect saucer, with four side arms radially extending from it. The side arms each utilize an air multiplier that allows the propulsion device to be concealed within the side arm, eliminating the exposure of bladed components with the surrounding. The geometry of the central housing along with the size of the air multiplier and the geometry of its airfoil is optimized using CFD analysis. The objective is to maximize thrust and minimize the weight of the drone structure and the aerodynamic drag it experiences. Following this, a plant model for the resulting design is developed using Simulink, with PID controllers tuned for 6 DOF control. The control simulations revealed satisfactory performance. Moreover, the optimization of geometric parameters resulted in a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.5, and the energy losses owing to fluid flow within the air multiplier were acceptable. All of this coupled with the design’s inherent safety features makes it a viable option for use cases demanding increased safety with a minor compromise to flight efficiency, such as the videography, monitoring, and surveillance of confined spaces and crowded areas.