Wake Interactions of A Tetrahedron Quadcopter

Abstract

This paper studies the influence of the placement of a quadcopter's rotors with a tetrahedron shape on its produced thrust. A tetrahedron quadcopter is a rotorcraft with four horizontal rotors, including an upper rotor and three lower rotors placed equidistant around the upper rotor on a lower plane. The goal of this aircraft design is to create an airframe that is structurally rigid in 3-dimensions while being as efficient as an aircraft that has its rotors on the same vertical plane. Due to the wake interaction between the top and bottom propellers, a reduction of thrust is expected compared to a placement of the rotors on the same plane when rotors are close enough. The results presented in this paper illustrate how the wake interactions impact the performance of several configurations of the tetrahedron quadcopter.