ARChEaN: Aerodynamics of Rotors in Confined ENvironments Study in Ground and Corner Effect

The work presented in this paper is part of a project called ARChEaN (Aerodynamic of Rotors in Confined ENvironment) whose objective is to study the interactions of a micro-drone rotor with its surroundings in the case of flight in enclosed environments such as those encountered, for example, in archaeological exploration of caves. To do so the influence of the environment (walls, ground, ceiling...) on the rotor’s aerodynamic performance as well as on the flow field between the rotor and the surroundings will be studied. This paper will focus in two different configurations: flight near the ground and flight near a corner (wall and ground) and the results will be analysed and compared to a general case consisting of flight far away from any obstacle. In order to carry out this analysis both a numerical and an experimental approach will be carried out in parallel. The objective is to validate the numerical model with the results obtained experimentally and to benefit from the advantages of both approaches. This research work is an important step as it will lead to knowledge on how to operate these systems as to minimise the possible negative environment disturbances, reduce fuel consumption and predict the micro drone’s behaviour during its enclosed flights.