Abstract

The topic of this thesis is on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Due to the growth of interests in this kind of equipment in different fields, the various features are under investigation. The specific type of UAV considered in this study is the multi-rotor drone. Basically, the kinematics and dynamics of the system are both reviewed in details within the fundamental concepts of this vehicle.
The main focus of the thesis is enhancing the performance of the quadrotor, mainly the forward speed. This vehicle is able to hover at any step of the flight and fast flight in forwarding direction. The Newton-Euler equations are used to model the quadrotor. Different strategies for adding rotor in the x-direction are studied to make changes in the quadrotor to be able to fly fast in forwarding direction. The six-motor design is considered to cover all the requirements. This design is mathematically studied by using the Newton-Euler formulations. The dynamic model of six-motor design is developed based on existent models for UAVs.
Also, wind tunnel tests were carried out with the objective of extracting the aerodynamic forces. The quadrotor and one motor with its propeller are examined at different angles of installation. The results from the wind tunnel experiments are used in the simulation models.
The quadrotor and the six-motor UAV are both modeled and solved with MATLAB-Simulink. PID control is used for modeling the vehicles. The results of the simulations are compared. The performance of the quadrotor and six-motor UAV design is similar to the four-rotor drone under the hovering conditions.