Aerodynamic design and analysis of a propeller for a micro air vehicle

AU-80 propeller and its modified version, U-75 propeller, are used for a micro air vehicle. The performance characteristics of a U-80 propeller and a U-75 propeller have not much known in the published literature. Thus, their aerodynamic characteristics are investigated using a lifting surface numerical method. The lifting surface method is validated by comparing computed results with measured data in a wind tunnel. From the computed results, it is found that the U-75 propeller produces larger thrust with higher efficiency than the U-80 propeller. To enhance the performance of these propellers, a new propeller is designed by following the sequential design procedures with the design parameters such as hub-tip ratio, maximum camber and its position, and chord length distribution along the radial direction. The performance of the designed propeller is shown to be improved much comparing with those of both the U-80 and U-75 propellers.