International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications

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Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter

Received: 22 April 2019    Accepted:     Published: 15 June 2019
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Abstract

This paper features a new concept design of mini-quadcopter consisting of two types of power source systems. The solar type of power source and rechargeable lithium battery type of power source systems. The quadcopter design introduced showcases the extensive usefulness of solar cells on aircrafts. The title is “SPFD quadcopter”, the SPFD stand for “solar powered fatigue durable” quadcopter. the quadcopter in question is designed to be powered by 40 solar thin film cells rated at 1.5v per panel. A fatigue analysis is conducted in its arm structures that offer support to the four mounted brushless motors responsible for driving the propellers that produce sufficient thrust to provide lift. By use of the “ANSYS” designing and simulating program, the carried out analysis shows the level of deformation in the arms due to the weight of the entire craft which tends to rest on the arms when the quadcopter is in flight. A fatigue structure analysis was considered necessary, to take appropriate precautions in both early stages of design and choice of material, to prevent premature structure failure in the field. Our objective of this paper is generally to show case the use of flexible solar cells as the source of power for providing power to the motors with the capability of charging the lithium battery during flight when being operated in battery mode. this new type of UAV can be used for military and civilian needs, surveillance and even space operations such as being set as a satellite to provide signal for internet back to earth.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14
Published in International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications (Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2019)
Page(s) 58-65
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Quadcopter, Solar Power, Design, Fatigue Analysis

References
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[2] Mwanza Taipa Raymond. Spray-Copter Design and Manufacture [D]. Nanchang Hangkong University Master’s thesis. 2016. 03. pp. 1-10
[3] Ying XU, Xiao Ping HU, Ben Shuang ZHANG, Jian. The Design and Dynamics Analysis of Robot Drilling Platform Special for Cutting of Hardworking Material [C]. The 2015 International Conference on Mechanical Science and Mechanical Design (MSMD2015),Changsha, China, 2015. 12,43-49
[4] Long LI, Ying XU, Miao SUN, Huang HUANG, Airfoil Optimization Design of Flying Wing Configuration [C], The 2015 International Conference on Mechanical Science and Mechanical Design [C]. The 2015 International Conference on Mechanical Science and Mechanical Design (MSMD2015),Changsha, China, 2015. 12.418-424.
[5] M. M. Abdelrahman, M. M. Elnomrossy and M. R. Ahmed, Development of Mini Unmanned Air Vehicles [C]. 13th International Conference on Aerospace Sciences & Aviation Technology, ASAT- 13, Cairo, Egypt, May 2009, pp1-13.
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[7] X. S. Feng. Overview on application of solar unmanned aerial vehicle [J]. Solar Energy, vol. (07), 2018, pp. 10-15+75.
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[10] P. Y. Feng. Quadrotor UAV modeling and PID controller design [J] Industrial Design, vol. (06), 2018, pp. 135-137.
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[14] Y. GUO, D. W. WANG, Y. DENG. Modeling and flight control of quadrotor [J]. Transducer and Microsystem Technologies, vol. 36 (11), 2017, pp. 38-41.
Author Information
  • School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China

  • School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China

  • School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China

  • School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China

  • School of Aircraft Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ying Xu, Qianfeng Wan, Mwanza Taipa Raymond, Gang Lu, Xianghu Zeng. (2019). Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications, 7(2), 58-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14

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    ACS Style

    Ying Xu; Qianfeng Wan; Mwanza Taipa Raymond; Gang Lu; Xianghu Zeng. Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter. Int. J. Mech. Eng. Appl. 2019, 7(2), 58-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14

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    AMA Style

    Ying Xu, Qianfeng Wan, Mwanza Taipa Raymond, Gang Lu, Xianghu Zeng. Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter. Int J Mech Eng Appl. 2019;7(2):58-65. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14,
      author = {Ying Xu and Qianfeng Wan and Mwanza Taipa Raymond and Gang Lu and Xianghu Zeng},
      title = {Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter},
      journal = {International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {58-65},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijmea.20190702.14},
      abstract = {This paper features a new concept design of mini-quadcopter consisting of two types of power source systems. The solar type of power source and rechargeable lithium battery type of power source systems. The quadcopter design introduced showcases the extensive usefulness of solar cells on aircrafts. The title is “SPFD quadcopter”, the SPFD stand for “solar powered fatigue durable” quadcopter. the quadcopter in question is designed to be powered by 40 solar thin film cells rated at 1.5v per panel. A fatigue analysis is conducted in its arm structures that offer support to the four mounted brushless motors responsible for driving the propellers that produce sufficient thrust to provide lift. By use of the “ANSYS” designing and simulating program, the carried out analysis shows the level of deformation in the arms due to the weight of the entire craft which tends to rest on the arms when the quadcopter is in flight. A fatigue structure analysis was considered necessary, to take appropriate precautions in both early stages of design and choice of material, to prevent premature structure failure in the field. Our objective of this paper is generally to show case the use of flexible solar cells as the source of power for providing power to the motors with the capability of charging the lithium battery during flight when being operated in battery mode. this new type of UAV can be used for military and civilian needs, surveillance and even space operations such as being set as a satellite to provide signal for internet back to earth.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Design of Solar Powered and Fatigue Durable Quadcopter
    AU  - Ying Xu
    AU  - Qianfeng Wan
    AU  - Mwanza Taipa Raymond
    AU  - Gang Lu
    AU  - Xianghu Zeng
    Y1  - 2019/06/15
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14
    T2  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    JF  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    JO  - International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications
    SP  - 58
    EP  - 65
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-0248
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijmea.20190702.14
    AB  - This paper features a new concept design of mini-quadcopter consisting of two types of power source systems. The solar type of power source and rechargeable lithium battery type of power source systems. The quadcopter design introduced showcases the extensive usefulness of solar cells on aircrafts. The title is “SPFD quadcopter”, the SPFD stand for “solar powered fatigue durable” quadcopter. the quadcopter in question is designed to be powered by 40 solar thin film cells rated at 1.5v per panel. A fatigue analysis is conducted in its arm structures that offer support to the four mounted brushless motors responsible for driving the propellers that produce sufficient thrust to provide lift. By use of the “ANSYS” designing and simulating program, the carried out analysis shows the level of deformation in the arms due to the weight of the entire craft which tends to rest on the arms when the quadcopter is in flight. A fatigue structure analysis was considered necessary, to take appropriate precautions in both early stages of design and choice of material, to prevent premature structure failure in the field. Our objective of this paper is generally to show case the use of flexible solar cells as the source of power for providing power to the motors with the capability of charging the lithium battery during flight when being operated in battery mode. this new type of UAV can be used for military and civilian needs, surveillance and even space operations such as being set as a satellite to provide signal for internet back to earth.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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