MAI will present the stand for drone propellers testing at the HeliRussia Exhibition

From May 19 to 21, the Crocus Expo will host the HeliRussia International Exhibition dedicated to the most advanced achievements of the helicopter industry. Moscow Aviation Institute traditionally takes part in the exhibition, demonstrating a number of promising developments. For example, for the first time, a stand for testing propellers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with electric drive, developed at the MAI Student Design Bureau with the participation of the Department 102 "Helicopter Design", will be presented.

“The stand allows to determine the main aerodynamic characteristics of the propellers of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as the characteristics of the electric motors that drive them into rotation, says the participant of the project, graduate student of the Department 102 Vladimir Lukhanin. “The ultimate goal of such tests is to achieve maximum energy efficiency of the screw-electric motor system. The stand has no analogues of the same functionality on the Russian market. Its main advantage is the ability to measure not only the thrust and the required electrical power at different speeds, but also the torque, which allows us to evaluate the electrical efficiency of the engine and the aerodynamic efficiency of the propeller separately.”

“The operating conditions of electric propellers change significantly during the flight of the UAV. To increase the efficiency of propellers, it is necessary to select the optimal aerodynamic twist and the shape of the blade, taking into account the operation of the propeller in various flight modes, says Boris Artamonov, Associate Professor of the Department 102, Ph.D. “To confirm the reliability of calculations according to the developed methods, it is necessary to conduct bench tests of a jointly operating electric motor and an air propeller. The solution of these tasks will allow us to create a UAV design that provides competitive flight characteristics.”