Derivation and Analysis of the Equations of Motion for a Ducted Fan UAV
- Resource Type
- Authors
- M. Christopher Cotting; Brandon Stiltner; O. John Ohanian
- Source
- AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference.
- Subject
- Computer Science::Robotics
Vehicle dynamics
Center of gravity
Nonlinear system
Engineering
Control theory
business.industry
Modal analysis
Motion (geometry)
Equations of motion
Rigid body
business
Stability (probability)
- Language
The rigid body equations of motion for ducted fan UAVs are investigated. The nonlinear equations of motion are derived and simplified to linear approximations for different flight conditions and vehicle configurations. It is shown that the ducted fan vehicle dynamics are too coupled to be analyzed without numerical approximation. A numerical technique is then used to perform modal analysis on a representative ducted fan. Dominate vehicle modes are shown. A CG study is presented to investigate the effect of center of gravity placement on vehicle stability.