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Aerodynamic behavior and acoustic signature of propellers fabricated by additive manufacturing

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Abstract

This paper explores the effects of surface texture on noise response and propeller-media interaction for additively manufactured (AM) features of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) rotary propellers. The microgeometry nature of material extrusion (ME), molding in additively manufactured molds, and vat polymerization (VP) processes was captured with areal texture measurements, and further aerodynamic and acoustic tests allowed to differentiate among these AM technologies. Three-layer thickness values of 50 μm, 125 μm, and 254 μm were tested on fabricated rotary blades at eight different rotational speeds ranging from 4000 to 7500 RPM by increments of 500 RPM, measuring their thrust, torque, vibration, and sound pressure level (SPL). The experimental results showed the overall sound pressure level (OASPL) is mostly constant around the recording microphones. Surface roughness and RPM were the main factors that affect performance. AM propellers exhibited a thrust loss with an associated OASPL decrease; with blades fabricated via VP having the least form deviation and best surface quality, outperforming other specimens compared against the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) baseline. Expected advantages of using VP over COTS include onsite production and customization.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Sean Evans for the fabrication of the mold used in part of the experimentation.

Funding

This work has been partially supported by the Center for Agile and Adaptive Additive Manufacturing (CAAAM) funded through State of Texas Appropriation (#190405-105-805008-220), and by Conacyt scholarship grant #420865. Cesar Chavez Tolentino was supported by the Conacyt scholarship program, grant #420865.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of North Texas, 3940 N. Elm St., Denton, TX, 76207, USA

    Cesar Chavez-Tolentino, Hector R. Siller & Hamid Sadat

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of North Texas, 3940 N. Elm St., Denton, TX, 76207, USA

    Xinrong Li

Authors
  1. Cesar Chavez-Tolentino
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  2. Xinrong Li
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  3. Hector R. Siller
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  4. Hamid Sadat
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, experimentation, analysis, and first manuscript drafting were performed by Cesar Chavez-Tolentino. Xinrong Li contributed on part of the experimentation. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hector R. Siller.

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Chavez-Tolentino, C., Li, X., Siller, H.R. et al. Aerodynamic behavior and acoustic signature of propellers fabricated by additive manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 129, 3403–3412 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-12529-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-12529-0

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