Aerodynamic Effects in Multirotors Flying Close to Obstacles: Modelling and Mapping

Abstract

This paper aims to model the aerodynamic effects in the flight of aerial robots close to obstacles in the oil and gas industries. These models are presented in the form of an aerodynamic effects map which represents the changes in the thrust when an aerial vehicle flies very close to different obstacles. Although there are works related to the fly close to different obstacles in the literature, some of the effects needed to develop the aerodynamic map have not been previously studied and tested experimentally in a test stand. The paper also considers the case where the rotor is affected by more than one obstacle.