Design of novel VTOL concept for higher thrust and agility

Abstract

The industry of aerial robotics is growing at a very high rate with new inventions coming every now and then. However, the thrust generated by these UAVs are only sufficient to carry payloads of low weight. This situation can be improved by using combustion as a source to generate thrust. Thus comes a model using compressor, combustion, and nozzle with a better scope of maneuverability as an added benefit. This project is concerned only about the working of the model. Hence, only compressor and nozzles are used excluding the combustion making the prototype simpler and easy to analysis. The UAV has three nozzles, and each nozzle has a separate compressor. One nozzle is swivel nozzle making the UAV a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) and the other two nozzles are attached to the compressor duct via a simple revolute joint. The nozzles are actuated by servo motors which are controlled by the control system. Roll, Pitch, and Yaw of the UAV are controlled by nozzles positions and rpm of the compressors. First thrust from one compressor and nozzle is theoretically calculated and then verified by an experiment. In the next step, the whole UAV can be built, and some motion planning operations can be implemented. By including combustion this UAV has enormous applications in different fields. In Defense, this can be used to transport heavy armory to unreachable sites. In construction, this can be used to carry heavy equipment in very large sites and tall buildings. This can be also used as a flying car for commercial transportation. The list goes on. Given the applications this project could have a huge impact in the near future.