Dynamic modeling, simulation, and parameter study of electric quadrotor system of Quad-Plane UAV in wind disturbance environment

Abstract

Quad-Plane UAV(quadrotor fixed-wing hybrid vertical take-off and landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is vulnerable to wind disturbance in quadrotor mode, and the performance of the electric quadrotor system directly affects its wind disturbance rejection performance. To study and optimize the wind disturbance rejection performance of the electric quadrotor system of Quad-Plane precisely and efficiently, a dynamic electric quadrotor simulation system integrating high-precision submodels of electric quadrotor system components is required. However, there are few papers on this kind of simulation system. This paper proposed a simulation system with both high computational efficiency and precision, and it can be used in optimization and flight simulation of Quad-Plane. The simulation system includes submodels of rotor, brushless direct current (BLDC) motor, electronic speed controller (ESC), and Li-ion Polymer battery. The surrogate-based rotor model is established to calculate the aerodynamic performance of the rotor in oblique flow. The BLDC motor performance calculation model considering inductance is presented and the power loss of the ESC is considered. The discharge characteristics of the battery are modeled considering the rate capacity effect. All submodels are validated and the simulation results show good agreements with test data. A flight test of Quad-Plane in quadrotor mode is conducted to validate the integrated dynamic simulation system. The results show that the simulation system has the advantages of high computational efficiency and precision. Based on the simulation system, the influence of the electric quadrotor system parameters on the performance of the electric quadrotor system, and furthermore on the wind disturbance rejection performance of the Quad-Plane are found, the conclusions are helpful to the selection and optimization of the electric quadrotor system components.