Experimental Study of Hovering Rotor Performance with Ground Effect
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The hovering performance of two T-Motor propellers, sized 40” × 13.1” and 36” × 11.5”, under the influence of ground effect was experimentally investigated. This study is critical for understanding the operational capabilities of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft in rescue missions. Experiments were conducted across a Reynolds number range of 6.49 × 105 to 1.64 × 106, with rotor speeds varying from 1,182 to 3,607 rpm, and at height-to-radius ratios (z/R) of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 to assess ground effect. The results revealed that the 40-inch propeller outperformed the 36-inch variant in hovering, achieving the maximum Figure of Merit of 0.42 at 2,365 RPM and a z/R of 3. Notably, the experimentally observed trends in ground effect deviated from theoretical predictions. Comparisons with both the manufacturer's (T-Motor) performance data and Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT) analysis indicated a tendency for the experimental values, suggesting potential impacts from air turbulence during testing and power transmission inefficiencies to the propellers.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- Content and information in articles published in NKRAFA Journal of Science and Technology are comment and responsibility of authors of articles directly. Journal editorial do no need to agree or share any responsibility.
- NKRAFA Journal of Science and Technology Articles holds the copyright of the content, pictures, images etc. which published in it. If any person or agency require to reuse all or some part of articles, the permission must be obtained from the NKRAFA Journal of Science and Technology.
References
N. D. Nathan and R. B. Green, “Measurement of a rotor flow in ground effect and visualization of the brown-out phenomenon,” in 64th American Helicopter Society Annual Forum, 2008.
T. E. Lee, J. G. Leishman and M. Ramasamy, “Fluid Dynamics of Interacting Blade Tip Vortices with a Ground Plane,” Journal of the American Helicopter Society, vol. 55, no. 2, April 2010.
B. E. Lee, Y. S. Byun, J. Kim, and B. S. Kang, “Experimental hover performance evaluation on a small-scale rotor using a rotor test stand,” Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 1449-1456, June 2011.
F. Panayotov, I. Dobrew, F. Massouh and M. Todorov, “Experimental study of a helicopter rotor model in hover,” MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 234, no. 3, January 2018.
J. Schmaus, B. Berry, W. Gross, and P. Koliais, “Experimental Study of Rotor Performance in Deep Ground Effect with Application to a Human-Powered Helicopter,” Presented at the American Helicopter Society 68th Annual Forum, 2012.
M. Benedict, J. Winslow, Z. Hasnain and I. Chopra, "Experimental Investigation of Micro Air Vehicle Scale Helicopter Rotor in Hover," International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 231-256, September 2015.
S. A. Conyers, “Empirical Evaluation of Ground, Ceiling, and Wall Effect for Small-Scale Rotorcraft,” M.S. thesis, University of Denver, Denver, 2019.
M. Wojtas, L. Czajkowski and K. Szumanski, “Ground test stands for testing rotors in insulated conditions,” Transactions on Aerospace Research, vol. 2021, no. 1, pp. 15–23, March 2021.
A. Atte, D. Wylie and J. Rauleder, “Experimental Investigation of Multi-Rotor Aerodynamic Interactions,” in The Vertical Flight Society’s 78th Annual Forum & Technology Display, Ft. Worth, Texas, 2022.
J. G. Leishman, Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
T-Motor official website, "About T-Motor," [Online]. Available: https://www.tmotor.com/about-us. (Accessed: May. 6, 2025).
A. Garofano-Soldado, P. J. Sanchez-Cuevas, G. Heredia and A. Olloero, “Numerical-experimental evaluation and modelling of aerodynamic ground effect for small-scale tilted propellers at low Reynolds numbers,” Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 126, pp. 1-17, July 2022.
C. R. Russell and M. K. Sekula, “Comprehensive Analysis Modeling of Small-Scale UAS Rotors,” in AHS International 73rd Annual Forum, 2017.
R. W. Deters and M. S. Selig, "Static testing of micro propellers," in Proc. 26th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, 2008.
M. P. Merchant, "Propeller Performance Measurement for Low Reynolds Numbers Unmanned Aerial Applications," M.S. Thesis, Wichita State University, Wichita, 2005.
