LAB REPORT #2

Table of Contents

Table of Contents 1

List of Figures 3

List of Tables 4

1 BALLOON BUOYANCY TEST 5

1.1 Volume of Balloon 5

1.2 Buoyancy of Balloon 5

1.3 Measurement Procedure for Buoyancy of Balloon 6

2 RC ELECTRONICS 8

2.1 Role of RC Electronics 8

Motor 8

Speed Controller 8

Battery 9

Propeller 9

Transmitter 9

Receiver 9

Servo Motor 10

2.2 Connection Diagram for RC Plane 10

3 THRUST TEST 11
 3.1 Experimental Setup 11

Load Cell 11

Load Cell Amplifier 12

Wattmeter 12

3.2 Experimental Results 12

4 References 14
 List of Figures

Figure 1. Connection Diagram of 4-channel RC Aircraft 10

Figure 2. Thrust Test Setup 11

 List of Tables

Table 1. Buoyancy Calculations 6

Table 2. Endurance Calculation 13

 1 BALLOON BUOYANCY TEST

1.1 Volume of Balloon

Assuming the balloon to be ellipsoid, we can determine the volume using following formula [1]:

𝟒
𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 = 𝑽 = 𝝅𝒂𝒃𝒄
𝟑

Where a, b, and c are the principal axes of the ellipsoid. From the lab measurements, we know:

𝑎 = 𝑏 = 36 𝑐𝑚

𝑐 = 12 𝑐𝑚

4
=> 𝑉 = 𝜋(36)(36)(12) 𝑐𝑚3
3

=> 𝑉 = 65144.065 𝑐𝑚3

=> 𝑽 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟓𝟏 𝒎𝟑

1.2 Buoyancy of Balloon

Buoyancy of the balloon can be calculated using the following formula [2]:

𝑩𝒖𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 = 𝑭 = (𝝆𝒂𝒊𝒓 − 𝝆𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒖𝒎 )𝒈𝑽

Here, g is the gravitational acceleration and V is the volume of air displaced, which is given by the

volume of the balloon (ellipsoid). We also know the densities of air and helium to be equal to

1.225 kg/m3 and 0.0851kg/m3 respectively. So, we can now determine the buoyancy force.

𝐹 = (1.225 − 0.0851)(9.8)(0.0651) 𝑁

=> 𝑭 = 𝟎. 𝟕𝟑 𝑵
1.3 Measurement Procedure for Buoyancy of Balloon

Archimedes' principle states that an object submerged in a fluid encounters a force which is

equivalent to the weight of the fluid displaced by that object. Applying this principle to the case

of the Helium balloon, we know that the balloon rises upwards when it is not tied to the ground.

This happens because the buoyant force is in fact greater than the weight of the Helium-filled

balloon. We can also say that the weight of the balloon must therefore be less than the weight of

the volume of air it displaces. So, the net force acts in upwards direction and is given by the

difference in weight between the balloon and the volume of air displaced by it.

For theoretical calculations, we can use the formula used in the previous subsection to estimate the

buoyancy force by finding the product of the gravitational acceleration, volume of air displaced

and the net difference of density of air and helium. For actual measurement, in order to determine

buoyancy force, we measure the weight of the balloon. The electronic scale is placed upside down

in a glass container, and the balloon is placed inside the container, so that when the balloon makes

contact with the scale, it registers the weight of the balloon. First the weight is recorded when the

balloon is tied to a support on the ground, and then the weight is measured with the balloon untied.

Finally, the two weights are compared. The difference of the two weights yields the buoyancy of

the balloon. The experimental results are shown below:

Table 1. Buoyancy Calculations

Mass of Balloon (tied to the ground) 0.237 kg

Mass of Balloon (untied) 0.31 kg

Net Mass of Balloon 0.073 kg

(0.073)(9.8) N
Net Weight (mg)
0.715 N
Finally, we can compare the experimental and theoretical results.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐵𝑢𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝐹𝑡 = 0.73 𝑁

𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐵𝑢𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝐹𝑥 = 0.715 𝑁

Clearly, the buoyancy determined experimentally and theoretically agree with each other. The

error is found to be only 2%, which again validates that the results are correct.
 2 RC ELECTRONICS

2.1 Role of RC Electronics

Radio control (RC) is the utilization of control signals sent by radio to distantly control a gadget.

Instances of basic radio control frameworks incorporate carport entryway openers in which a little

handheld radio transmitter opens entryways. Radio control is likewise utilized for control of model

vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter. A rapidly developing application is control of

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for both civilian and military use.

RC electronics include the following components:

Motor

The motor is the power plant of an RC plane. The motor is responsible for turning the propeller at

high speeds to provide the necessary thrust to move it through the air. Two basic factors play a key

role in the choice of motor, which are:

• RPM

• Power rating.

The standard motors used in RC planes are brushless [3], which means they use AC current to

work. This necessitates the use of the component detailed in the next subsection.

Speed Controller

Often abbreviated as the ESC, the Electronic Speed Controller converts the DC power coming

from the battery to an AC current which is required by the motor. As mentioned already, brushless

motors need AC current to work. Another role of the ESC is to convert battery voltage down to

5V which is what the receiver requires to run. The choice of ESC depends largely on the amperage

rating, which needs to be in line with the number of amps the motor can use.
 Battery

LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries are standard for RC planes [3]. The battery is responsible for

providing the voltage which will be converted into AC current and then driving the motor. The

battery is the heart of any device running RC electronics. In general, batteries have three main

characteristics: voltage, amp capacity and discharge rate. Discharge rate tells us how much current

the battery can supply.

Propeller

The propeller and the motor go hand in hand. The propellor is responsible for providing the thrust

required to make an RC plane airborne. It is connected to the motor and is driven by the motor.

Transmitter

The transmitter is the component which gives a person the ability to control an RC airplane. It

sends signals to the receiver which in turn gives specific instructions to the servos for operational

activities of the RC plane. Most modern transmitters use a 2.4 Ghz frequency [3]. Transmitters can

have different number of channels. Channels are basically the number of things which can be

controlled by the transmitter. As an example, a three-channel transmitter only gives the ability to

control three servos. Standard RC transmitters for RC planes have six channels. These channels

are responsible for controlling the rudder, elevator, ailerons, motor, Aux 1, and Aux 2. Therefore,

each channel effectively controls a singular servo motor.

Receiver

The RC component which goes into the aircraft and is responsible for controlling the servos and

motor(s) is the receiver. It must have same frequency as the transmitter so that it can connect

wirelessly with it. It must also have the same number of channels as the transmitter so that each

individual servo/motor may be controlled. The receiver requires 5V to run. It is responsible for
sending signals to the servos to turn them. Another key role of the receiver is to send a signal to

the ESC to define the operating RPM of the motor.

Servo Motor

Servos are responsible for the desired movement of control surfaces. The servos are connected to

the receiver. Each control surface requires a separate servo, and a separate channel on the receiver

and transmitter for proper signal transmission.

2.2 Connection Diagram for RC Plane

Following is a connection diagram of RC electronics for a typical 4-channel RC fixed-wing

aircraft, assuming 4 servos and 1 brushless motor is being used.

Figure 1. Connection Diagram of 4-channel RC Aircraft

 3 THRUST TEST

3.1 Experimental Setup

The experimental setup for the thrust measurement test is depicted in the following figure:

Figure 2. Thrust Test Setup

Load Cell

A load cell is a transducer which changes over mechanical power into a quantifiable electrical

yield. Despite the fact that there are numerous assortments of power sensors, strain gauge load

cells are the most ordinarily utilized sort. A wheat stone extension is a critical part of this load cell

too, working with the strain gauge. A load cell works by changing over mechanical power into

computerized values that can be perused and recorded.

 Load Cell Amplifier

A load cell amplifier is a gadget that can increase the strength of signs emanating from a load cell,

to make the force that is being detected readable. Some of the time, the signals delivered by the

load cell can be weak and low strength signals may not work with specific components of the

measuring system. The load cell amplifier settles this issue by taking the signal and afterward

enhancing it, bringing about a higher strength yield signal.

Wattmeter

A device used for measuring electric power i.e., the supply rate of electrical energy in watts of a

given circuit is called a Wattmeter.

3.2 Experimental Results

We assume that the LiPo battery has average voltage of 3.7V/cell and the amp capacity of the 2

cell battery is 2200mAh. The three combinations tested were as follows:

• Test Combination A: 1 Motor/Propeller + 3 Servo Motors

• Test Combination B: 2 Motor/Propeller + 3 Servo Motors

• Test Combination C: 3 Motor/Propeller + 3 Servo Motors

The results of the experiment i.e., thrust and power were recorded for each test combination. From

all available data, we then determined the endurance (in minutes) for each test combination. The

formula used for the calculation of endurance is shown below [4]:

𝑨𝒎𝒑 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 (𝑨𝒉)

𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 = 𝒕(𝒉) = ⁄𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 (𝑨)
The results of the experiment are summarized in the following table:

Table 2. Endurance Calculation

Test Current
Thrust [gf] Power [W] Endurance [min]
Combination Drawn (Amp)

A 145.652 17.88 2.42 54.54

B 289.72 33.02 4.46 29.60

C 412.704 46.98 6.35 20.79

 4 References

[1] "Wikipedia," [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsoid. [Accessed 05 04

2021].

[2] "Stack Exchange," [Online]. Available:

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/135151/how-to-calculate-the-buoyant-force-

on-a-balloon-at-different-altitudes. [Accessed 2021].

[3] HavocRC, "Instructables," [Online]. Available: https://www.instructables.com/Beginners-

Guide-to-Connecting-Your-RC-Plane-Electr/. [Accessed 2021].

[4] L. W. Traub, "Research Gate," [Online]. Available:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269567470_Range_and_Endurance_Estimates_f

or_Battery-Powered_Aircraft.