PhD Thesis Proposal

By

Lee Whitcher

(Advisor: Dr. Eric N. Johnson)

9am, Monday, August 7th, 2017

Mongomery-Knight Building

Room 317

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE CONTROL AND PERFORMANCE

OPTIMIZATION OF A VTOL UAV USING THE COANDA EFFECT

The Coanda effect is a phenomenon of fluid dynamics whereby a jet exhibits a strong tendency to become attached to, and flow around, a nearby surface. Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) utilizing the Coanda effect for lift generation have a number of potential benefits, including: (a) the creation of a large aerodynamically-neutral payload/systems bays, (b) a high payload-carrying ability for its size, and (c) the use of an enclosed rotor, enabling it to withstand contact with its surroundings.

Coanda effect UAVs have undergone some study, but remain a largely under-investigated and certainly un-optimized VTOL configuration. This proposed research aims to address this by:

• Developing a physics-based model for the aircraft’s flight dynamics
• Developing a robust flight controller for hover and low-speed flight
• Developing analytical and numerical methods to predict performance characteristics
• Incorporating this knowledge into an optimization strategy for maximizing the aircraft’s potential as a safer VTOL UAV for use in urban and otherwise challenging environments
• Validating all of the above works with experimental data gained from static and flight tests

Committee:
Dr. Eric N. Johnson, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Daniel P. Schrage, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. J.V.R. Prasad, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Magnus Egerstedt, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Tony J. Dodd, Dept.of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield (UK)

Dr. Suraj Unnikrishnan, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky