Quadrotor Aerodynamic Interaction Model Identification using Free-Flight Data

Aerodynamic interactions impact multirotor vehicle performance throughout its entire flight envelope and change with vehicle orientation, attitude, and forward flight speed. This paper presents efforts in incorporating these interaction effects into a reduced-order numerical quadrotor model informed by experimental flight test data. The interaction model employed system identification tools to compensate for discrepancies between actual rotor performance data and a Blade Element Theory (BET) based baseline model. Incorporation of the interaction model derived from system identification techniques improved the accuracy of model predicted rotor performance. The interaction model also provided insight into interaction effects predominantly influencing rotor performance for multiple flight conditions. The results demonstrate the utility of system identification techniques for accurate multirotor modeling capabilities.