On estimating rotor noise generated by small unmanned multirotors

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles are utilized for missions ranging from wildlife surveillance to delivery of commercial goods. Previous research at the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has focused on the monitoring of different species of wildlife, and some of this research was conducted utilizing multirotors. This work presents an introductory investigation and analysis of the acoustic noise generated by a single 15-inch rotor and applies this noise model to multiple rotors on a multirotor. The rotor is analyzed utilizing semi-empirical calculations and this work presents the process to continue acoustic analysis through simulation and analytical computation. Although this work studies, specifically, the 1555MR propeller designed by Advanced Precision Composites Propellers, the semi-empirical equations can be applied to other rotor designs. By investigating the analytical process, this work also presents a potential route through theory to identify the sound produced by these multirotors. The flow solution requires computational fluid dynamics software to output the flow on and around the rotors; this output can then be used for the analysis of noise. The total noise generated in stable hover is considered with certain assumptions about the blade geometry and aircraft motion. This work is organized into four chapters that detail the background, motivation, theory, setup, methods, results and conclusion. By utilizing this work and the works cited, readers and the researchers at ACUASI should understand the theory and be able to reproduce the results herein. With the estimation of noise of these multirotors, ACUASI will be able to refine their wildlife monitoring missions to ensure the observed animals are less affected by the noise generated by these vehicles.