Experimental Characterization of an Electrical Propulsion Unit for Service UAVs

Abstract

The increasing attention to the critical environmental situation leads towards the greater diffusion of vehicles based on affordable and clean energy, like electric energy. The electrification of traction thus favours the development of sustainable cities. This also applies to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), for which the electric solution in most cases is also the optimal solution. This paper presents the experimental characterization of the propulsion unit of a medium-sized drone (within the mass limit of 25 kg at the take-off) for service applications. The characterization process primary aims to integrate the power consumption data provided by the manufacturer, and evaluate the actuators performance in different conditions: i) considering two alternative configurations, i.e. motor with and without propellers, and ii) evaluating the contribute of the gravitational acceleration g on the actuation systems performance, i.e. with the supporting frame of the test bench at different angles with respect to the ground plane.