Computational Study on Rotor Interactional Effects for a Quadcopter in Edgewise Flight

This study examines the performance of a quadcopter in edgewise flight conditions using a Navier-Stokes solver with a detached-eddy simulation model. The rotating volume around each rotor interfaces with the remainder of the computational domain using a sliding mesh. Simulations were conducted for an AeroQuad Cyclone quadcopter operating in "cross" and "plus" configurations. In the cross configuration, the aft rotors showed a 19% reduction in lift (relative to an isolated rotor at the same conditions), with an associated 3% reduction in torque. The loss in lift was primarily at the front of the aft rotors due to the downwash induced by the forward rotors. The loss in lift also reduced the nose up pitching moment by 54%. In the plus configuration, sections of the east and west rotors close to the aircraft centerbody operate in upwash induced by the north rotor, increasing lift by 5.5 and 7.6%, respectively, relative to operation in isolation. The south rotor sees both upwash (and increased lift) along the advancing and retreating edges induced by the east and west rotors as well as downwash at the front (and reduced lift) induced by the north rotor, but no significant overall changes in thrust or torque.