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Improving Safety: Design and Development of a Bladeless Thruster for

Autonomous Multicopters

Conference Paper · June 2018

DOI: 10.1109/ICUAS.2018.8453474

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Improving Safety: Design and Development of a Bladeless Thruster for
Autonomous Multicopters
Daniel Valdenegro1 , Austin Capunay1 , Daniel Gonzalez1 ,
Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo2 Member, IEEE, and Pablo Rangel3

Abstract— The purpose of this research project was to get one The concept of a bladeless propulsion system inspired by
step closer to the design and manufacturing of a bladeless multi- Dyson’s bladeless fan was first put into play to build two
rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) using bladeless technol- prototype thrusters. The thrusters are composed of two parts.
ogy. The motivation behind this research was to eliminate the
hazards created by exposed propellers on conventional multi- The first part is an Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) or a special
rotor UAVs. The bladeless propulsion system would serve as an type of compressor designed for the second part, the nozzle.
alternative to propellers on multi-rotor UAVs. The concept of a The second part is a special ring nozzle attachment for the
bladeless propulsion system was inspired by Dysons bladeless EDF. The EDF is powered by a battery and is used to draw
fan. Research was done in the areas of the bladeless fan cross- in air from the surrounding environment and channel the
section geometry, air-flow properties, impellers, motors, ducted
fans, power sources, and conventional quad copter dynamic air through a special ring nozzle. The special ring nozzle
modeling were used to design the propulsion system for the is designed to accelerate the airflow through the component
UAV. The data collected from this research was used to design and induce an airflow through the ring when the air is ejected
a nozzle that attaches to an Electric Ducted Fan (EDF), to from the exit. A fundamental concept on how lift is created
create a bladeless thruster prototype. The nozzle is a circular involves creating low pressure on the top surface of the airfoil
ring with the cross section of an airfoil, which is designed to
induce an airflow from the surroundings through the ring. The and high pressure under the airfoil [2]. The induced airflow
nozzle and concept of the UAV was designed and virtually tested creates a low pressure area over the ring. The combination of
using AutoCAD, Inventor, and Computational Fluid Dynamics induced airflow and accelerated airflow create a high pressure
(CFD). The concept of the UAV consists of four bladeless area under the ring. Both the low and high pressure areas
thrusters which were 3D printed and tested with the EDF. One created are part of the fundamental concept of aeronautics
test structure, consisting of two thrusters was built to test the
stability that the propulsion system in one degree of freedom, for creating lift. Using this concept of a propulsion system
which essentially tests for pitch or roll angles of a multi-rotor the first state of the art bladeless UAV can be created. The
UAV. Another test structure, consisting of four thrusters was thruster must follow the fundamental concepts of propulsion
built to test the stability in three degrees of freedom, which in order to work. In order to create thrust from a propulsion
essentially tests for the combination of pitch, roll, and the yaw system, there must be a change in pressure from the inlet
heading.
and outlet. If there is a net change of pressure in the flow
I. INTRODUCTION there is an additional change in momentum [3]. Also, the
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) states that exit velocity must be greater than the inlet velocity. In other
from the year 2016 to 2020 the drone population will triple words this means that the mass flow rate must be increased
from 2.5 to 7 million [1]. At this growth rate there are risks
that the human population will be exposed to. The concept
of a Bladeless UAV addresses three hazards involved with
conventional multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).
The propellers on a conventional quadcopter UAV create a
hazard to life, property, and the environment. The bladeless
propulsion system developed for multi-rotor UAVs aims to
minimize those risks in order to protect the people, property,
and the environment from exposed propellers, see Figure 1.
1 D. Valdenegro, A. Capunay, and D. Gonzalez are with the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering &
Computing Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi,
6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5797, Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5797.
dvaldenegro@islander.tamucc.edu
2 L.R. Garcia Carrillo is with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, School
of Engineering & Computing Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus
Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5797, Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5797.
luis.garcia@tamucc.edu
3 P. Rangel is with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, School of
Engineering & Computing Sciences, Texas A&M University - Corpus
Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5797, Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5797. Fig. 1. Bladeless Multi-rotor UAV Concept Prototype.
pablo.rangel@tamucc.edu
through the system. These concepts are the ones that NASA
uses to develop their propulsion systems.
The design was accomplished using Autodesk AutoCAD,
Inventor and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) along
with concepts of aeronautics. Autodesk AutoCAD and In-
ventor were used to design virtual 3D models. These models
were uploaded to a CFD program to run simulations of fluid
flow through the models so that they could be optimized
without wasting materials on failed prototypes. The final de-
sign was then 3D printed using black Acrylonitrile Butadiene
Styrene (ABS) plastic. The material was chosen because it
has a higher heat coefficient and tensile strength than Poly
Lactic Acid (PLA). PLA is the other material that be used
to 3D print that can be accessible by the team.
Two test platforms were created. The first platform, which
can be seen in Figure 8, was designed and constructed to test
the stability of one degree of freedom which resembles the
pitch or roll angles of an aircraft. The second test platform,
which can be seen in Figure 1, consisted of a camera tripod
attached to a body which holds four thrusters and autopilot.
The second platform was used to test how the prototype
behaved with three degrees of freedom which considered the
pitch, roll and yaw heading.
This paper is organized as follows. Section II describes
the components of the proposed thruster. Next, Section III
provides details concerning the nozzle design of the thruster.
Section IV provides an expansion on the previously discussed
details into the working hardware/software prototypes. The
section also includes information on the control systems
and hardware/software used. Section V elaborates on the
result of testing both platforms as well as what could fix
the problems encountered. Section VI summarizes the results
and methodology that was used to fix the problems that were
encountered. Lastly, Section VI-A provides conclusions and
details on the future goals and ideas of designing a flying
prototype.
II. T HRUSTER
As proposed in this research, a finalized UAV implemen-
tation will be expected to have four bladeless thrusters as the
propulsion system. Each of the four thrusters consist of 3D
printed ABS plastic ring-shaped nozzle which is designed
as an attachment for a 70 mm Electric Ducted Fan (EDF).
The thrusters work by bringing in air with the EDF which
then pushes air through a ring-shaped nozzle that has a
cross-section of an airfoil. When the air is pushed out of
the nozzle, the high velocity air induces an airflow from its
surroundings that travel through the ring to enhances the exit
air flow. This phenomena occurs due to the basic principle of
thermodynamics which states that pressure moves from high
to low [4]. High pressure is considered the stagnant air and
the low pressure is considered the high velocity air profile.
The cross sectional shape of the nozzle, which resembles
an airfoil, plays an important role in the efficiency of the
thruster. To maximize thrust efficiency, the thruster geometry
in Figure 1 was sectioned into four parts as shown in
Figure 2: the trailing edge (1), high flow passage way (2),
outlet (3), leading edge/outlet extension (4), inner leading
edge (5), inner surface of contact (6). The ability to obtain
maximum thrust from each thruster requires a uniform flow
(laminar) of air that is free of any horizontal flow components
along its thrust axis (turbulence).
Fig. 2. Cross section of Thruster (Patent Pending).
After experimentation and airflow simulations using Au-
todesk CFD, it was determined that the angle of the high
flow passageway (2) can be treated like an angle of attack.
The angle of attack is a term used in aeronautics to refer
to the angle of an airfoil. Through observation, it was also
determined that an excessive amount of camber, or a high
angle of attack, resulted in a phenomena similar to a stall of
the high speed passageway, and the transition point where
the laminar flow becomes turbulent is given as a function
of airspeed. In aeronautics, the airfoil stall refers to the the
turbulent flow produced from a high angle of attack [5]. A
stalling airfoil results in higher drag which causes a decrease
in lift as seen in Figure 3.
In the case of the thruster, the turbulent flow is the result
of the decreasing and disbursement of the airflow along the
high flow passageway. To have a higher thrust efficiency,
the elimination of turbulence along high flow passageway is
necessary. The flow would have to remain laminar, rather
than convert into turbulence, as it travels along the surface.
The laminar air flow results in a concentration of air flow
which means a nearly constant or uniform velocity along
surface (2), indicating in higher thrust. It was determined
that the optimal angle lies within three to eight degrees.
The combination of the leading edge/outlet extension (4),
inner leading edge (5) and the inner surface of contact (6)
plays an important role in the efficiency. In order to have
an optimal laminar airflow at the outlet, it was found that
the inner surface of contact (6) would need a slight angle.
The slight angle reduces turbulence as the air makes contact
with the surface. In other words, the angle helps direct the
air towards the exit of the nozzle more efficiently as it travels
along and around the inner surface of contact (6). Also,
the inner leading edge (5) features a curvature that also
contributes to a more efficient airflow towards the exit. In
addition, the leading edge features the outlet extension, a fin
that extends along the upper surface of the outlet (3) and
directs the compressed air within the interior of the structure
outwards onto the high flow passageway (2). It was found
that the optimal leading edge would have to be parallel to the
surface of the high flow passage way. Also, the leading edge
would have to about a quarter of the length of the surface
of the high flow passage way.
 The trailing edge (4) has the important role of transporting
the airflow from the outlet of the nozzle onto the surround-
ing medium. The trailing edge has been designed with its
outermost edge as sharp as possible in order to avoid drag
and sustain the flow of air in a single direction. Having a
smooth airflow from the leading edge of the outlet to the
trailing edge, will allow for a maximum thrust efficiency in
one direction as opposed to having flow in multiple directions
resulting in reduced thrust.
III. D EVELOPMENT OF T HE T HRUSTER
The thrusters were designed to reduce the inefficiencies
due to a non uniform airflow through the nozzle. The
inefficiencies were observed through the CFD simulation
in Figure 3. After experimentation and CFD simulations, it
was determined that the angle of the high flow passageway
(2) can be treated like an angle of attack. It was found
that the optimal angle lies between three and eight degrees
depending on the geometry of the cross section. An angle
above eight degrees results in turbulence along the high
flow passage way which decreases thrust efficiency. Another
problem found through observation was that the inner leading
edge caused turbulence in the ring as it exited the nozzle;
thus, affecting the performance of the thruster. The next
inefficiency observed was that the outer lip of the nozzle as
well as the nozzle exit were too small. The last inefficiency
observed was that the trailing edge of the airfoil caused the
fluid to curl outwards. It was concluded that the turbulent
flow created down the airfoil surface of the thruster, started
in the outer lip/nozzle exit and increased as it reached
the trailing edge. The flow needed to be laminar in order
to maximize thrust because, in laminar flow, the force is
uniform.
Fig. 3. CFD simulation of first prototype nozzle. The dissipating green
line is the increase in turbulence across the airfoil.
Based off the observations and performance from the
first CFD model, a new model was developed to address
the inefficiencies found. The inner leading edge at (5) was
reduced so that the fluid can pass over it without creating
turbulence. (4) was extended towards the left of Figure 3 to
provide more guidance to the air. The exit area at (3) was
also increased to reduce the pressure within the nozzle. The
angle of (2) was reduced from 14 degrees to 8 degrees. The
trailing edge (1) was eliminated so that the airflow would
not dissipate as it left the surface of the trailing edge. The
simulation can be seen on Figure 4.
Fig. 4. CFD simulation of second prototype nozzle. The turbulence starts
increasing as it approaches the trailing edge.
As seen in the CFD simulation from the second prototype,
shown in Figure 4, the turbulence along the high flow passage
way (2) has decreased. It can be seen that the speed of
the fluid remains uniform for 3/4 of the distance of the
surface. However as the fluid approaches, to the trailing edge
turbulence starts to form. The part was then 3D printed to
test in a realistic scenario. The speed of the air was measured
at the end of the trailing edge with an anemometer. It was
noted that the speed of the fluid increase from 90.1233
km/h to 125.53 km/h when compared to the first prototype.
CFD calculated the the speed of the fluid at the same
location to be between 322 km/h and 402 km/h. The CFD
simulation calculates the nozzle as if there was no pressure
loss accounted for. The pressure loss results in a loss of mass
flow rate of the air as it travels through the nozzle. The loss
of mass flow rate is because of the back flow generated that
occurred in the real scenario. In other words, only part of the
air is pushed out of the nozzle, the rest of the air is pushed
out from the area between the tip of the impeller and the
wall of the EDF, resulting in a loss of energy.
Taking into account the weight of the second model as well
as the inefficiencies noted from the CFD simulation, a new
design was developed and virtually tested. The new design
included a new cross section geometry, the outlet area was
increase by double the amount of the second CFD model, the
angle of the high flow passageway was reduced to 3 degrees.
A new simulation was then processed which resulted in more
favorable results seen on Figure 5.
Fig. 5. CFD simulation of third prototype nozzle. The turbulence starts
increasing as it approaches the trailing edge.
Based off the results of the third CFD simulation, the
pressure inside the system was reduced, this assumption can
be made because the speed at the outlet was reduced by 241.4
km/h. The pressure difference should theoretically reduce
the resistance added to the motor. Although the pressure
decreased, it was noted that the flow along the high flow
passage way resulted in a less uniform flow. Based off
these observations on thrust efficiency, adjustments were then
made to the third CFD model design. The inner surface
of contact (6) was added an angle of three degrees, the
angle was originally removed because it was tested to verify
weather it would make a difference in the efficiency. The
inner-leading edge (5) was adjusted to have more of a round
surface rather than sharp for a smoother transition of airflow
to the outlet. Finally, a slight curvature to the high flow
passageway (2) was implemented. The curvature was added
because theoretically when a surface has a curvature, the
Coanda effect is increased. The Coanda effect results in
fluid to flow along the surface more than a flat surface [6].
The fourth prototype was then developed and virtually tested
through CFD. Results can be seen in Figure 5.
Fig. 6. CFD simulation of fourth prototype nozzle. Flow remains laminar
until approaching the trailing edge.
As seen from above, the results from the CFD simulation
of the fourth prototype can be considered to be the best one
in comparison to the other prototypes. It can be noted that the
velocity of the fluid remains uniform until reaching the end of
the trailing edge. It was also noted that the adjustments made
strongly influences the thruster efficiency. Based off these
results the fourth prototype nozzle was 3D printed and tested.
After printing the prototype it was noticed that there was a
significant decrease in weight. The weight was decreased to
127 g which is a third of the weight of the previous prototype
which weighed 390 g. Using the anemometer the speed of the
fluid at the end of the trailing edge was measured. The CFD
simulation calculated the location of where the measurement
was taken to be roughly 250 km/h. The measurement taken
resulted in a speed of 206 km/h. The difference can be
considered to be negligible, thus proving that CFD helped
lead in the right direction of a more efficient thruster. Based
off the results it can be concluded that the angle of the high
flow passageway along with the combination of points (1),
(3), (4), (5), (6) as a whole contribute to the thrust efficiency.
IV. P ROTOTYPE
Two prototypes were built in order to test and verify the
operation of the proposed bladeless UAV. The first prototype
was the testing platform that proved that the bladeless system
propulsion system can be used for controlled flight. It did
so by testing the response of the pitch or roll angles of
the UAV, and is composed of two thrusters. Although the
system is composed of two thrusters, the concept of the test
platform closely resembles a plus style configuration of a
quadcopter. The second prototype was implemented to test
the stability of the system in three degrees of freedom. The
platform consists of four thrusters which closely resembles a
x styled quadcopter. The second test platform also tested the
response of the pitch, roll and yaw heading of the aircraft.
The responsiveness along the three degrees of freedom help
prove wherever it is responsive enough for flight.
A. Control Systems
The bladeless UAV is expected to essentially have the
same control system as a quadcopter. Such system shall be
capable to control the pitch, roll, and yaw of the device [7].
The conventional quadcopter uses the moments of inertia
from the motors to control pitch, roll and yaw. The moment
of inertia of the cross-section of a body is its resistance to
changes in its rotation [8]. The quadcopters have both clock
wise and counter-clock wise propellers to control the yaw
heading. The yaw heading is controlled by accelerating the
motors across from each other to counteract the moments
of inertia of the other two motors. Essentially both pitch
and roll use the same technique to be controlled. In order
to move forward the back two motors are accelerated. In
order to translate to the left (the front facing the user), the
right two motors are accelerated. The bladeless UAV will use
the same concept of the conventional quadcopter to control
pith roll and yaw, except that the moments of inertia will be
located in different planes rather than on the same plane. In
a conventional quadcopter the four moments of inertia lie on
the plane above the UAV. In the bladeless UAV the moments
of inertia will lie perpendicular to each thruster as seen in
Figure 7.
Fig. 7. Moments of inertia of the Bladeless UAV.
B. Hardware/Software
The components for the test platform include Figure 8
two 80mm 12 bladed FMS EDFs, two ZTW CECKO 125A
brushless electronic speed controllers (ESC), a power dis-
tribution board (PDB), a Pixhawk autopilot, a Multistar
High Capacity 10,000 mAh 6s 10C Multi-Rotor Lipo battery
pack, a receiver, and a DX8 Spektrum transmitter. The
structure of the test platform consisted of two pillowcase
bearings connected by a threaded steel rod. Two thrusters
were attached perpendicular to the shaft with the inlet of each
thruster facing each other. Pillow case bearings allow for the
least amount of resistance due to friction, giving an accurate
way of testing pitch or roll. The thrusters in Figure 7 are
connected by two rubber polyvinyl chloride plastic polymer
(PVC) connectors and a PVC pipe. The PVC pipe has a
steel pipe inserted through the center which is connected to
the bearings. The PVC and rubber connectors are bored out
to maximize the airflow to the inlet of the EDF. The ESCs
and the Pixhawk are strapped to the top of the PVC. The
pillow case bearings were attached to the top of two 5.08
cm width by 10.16 cm thickness by 60.96 cm cm height
plywood planks with angled supports on the sides. The two
plywood planks were supported by a plywood base, while
also supporting the bearings and rod.
Fig. 8. The first prototype test platform.
The components of the second test platform UAV con-
sisted of four JP Hobby 70mm 12 Bladed EDFs, four
Hobbywing Platinum-100A-V3 ESCs, a power distribution
board (PDB), a Pixhawk autopilot, a Multistar High Capac-
ity 10,000 mAh 6s 10C Multi-Rotor Lipo battery pack, a
receiver, and a DX8 Spektrum transmitter. The body to where
the four thrusters along with all of the components consists
of a frame made of boat wood. The boat wood frame was
then attached to a tripod for a camera. The tripod was chosen
because it consists of a ball in socket that can be moved in
three degrees of freedom.
The EDFs are the component of the thruster that enhance
kinetic energy of air and channels it through the nozzle to
create thrust. The ESCs regulate power to the motors. The
ESCs are also a necessary component in the control systems
of the UAV. Just like the conventional quadcopter, this UAV
regulates power to each motor so the moments of inertia
created from the motors can be used to control pitch, roll and
the yaw heading. In order to properly distribute the power
from the battery evenly to each ESC, the power distribution
board distributes is used. The Pixhawk is the autopilot that
is used in this system. The Pixhawk has an integrated
a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller which
was tuned to create a platform that has a fast stabilization
response generated by disturbances. The receiver, along with
the ESCs, are connected to the Pixhawk. The transmitter is
the hand-held device used to control the platform via joy
sticks. The receiver receives the command generated from
the transmitter.
A PID controller is a control loop feedback algorithm used
for the autopilot to continuously modulated control. The gen-
eral expression for this controller is shown in equation (1).
Typically a PID controller manipulates one control output to
force a process value from the set point towards a reference
point. The reference point is the desired point at which the
transmitter is set to. For instance, if the UAV was desired
to move forward at full potential, the joystick that controls
the pitch and roll angles of the UAV would have to be fully
pushed forward. The distance of how much the joystick was
pushed forward is the considered reference point.
Z t
de(t)
u(t) = Kp e(t) + Ki e(t0 )dt0 + Kd (1)
0 dt
The PID equation can be broken up into three terms;
the proportional term, the integral term and the differential
term. Each term plays an important role in the controller.
Within the equation the terms Kp Ki , and Kd , all represent
non-negative values which donate the coefficients for the
proportional, integral, and derivative terms respectively. The
proportional term measures overshoot from current position
to the set point over time. In other is what tells the system
that an error has occurred, it also provides a response to that
error so that the system can return to a steady state. The
problem with having just a proportional controller is that
the system will keep overshooting and will never be able to
return to the set point because it will oscillate around that
point. The derivative term comes into play when there is
too much oscillation in the system. The derivative term will
decrease the amount of error in the amplitude between the
set point and actual position over time. In other words, it
serves as a damper to the system so that the system returns
to a non zero error state with minimal to no oscillations.
The integral term makes sure the system will stay at the
desired set point over time by constantly taking readings.
The integral term is also used to control the amount of time
at which the system takes reach that set point. If a system
has a high Integral value it will cause the system to move
very slowly as it approaches the desired set point.
V. R ESULTS
After analyzing the first thruster, it was observed that there
were inefficiencies aside from the ones observed through Au-
todesk CFD. The major inefficiencies were due to a pressure
loss within the nozzle that affected the thrust performance.
The pressure loss was observed through the back-flow gen-
erated between the tip of the impeller and wall of the EDF.
After conducting many tests the motor endured permanent
failure. It was then found that the pressure loss/back-flow
was due to the fact that the EDF was creating a pressure
within the system that the motor could not sustain. The back-
flow added resistance to the motor by the impeller which
overworked the motor, eventually leading it to fail. The inlet
speed into the EDF was measured to be 144 km/h and the
exit speed was measured to be 96 km/h. This decrease in
speed meant that the mass flow rate through the system was
decreased. The decrease was due to the air being forced back
out the inlet. The deceleration of the mass flow rate would
essentially result in no sufficient thrust since it does not
follow the principles of propulsion which were stated above.
Another problem that the first prototype thrusters had, was
that the nozzle required a high amount of material to print
causing it to weigh 445.4 g.
When the second prototype was manufactured and tested
it was observed that there was a significant decrease in back
flow. The inlet speed remained 144 km/h and the outlet speed
was increased from 96 km/h to 128 km/h, in comparison
to the first thruster. Since back flow still occurred, this
meant that there was still a deceleration in the mass flow
rate through the system, thus affecting thrust. However,
the second prototype thruster did provide enough thrust for
stabilization of first test platform. Also, with the new design
of the thruster it was noted that the weight of the nozzle was
decreased from 445.4 g to 309.5g.
When testing the third prototype thruster, it was observed
that the back flow had been completely reduced. Also, the
exit speed was increased from 128 km/h to 207 km/h. The
inlet speed was measured to be 157 km/h. Since the mass
flow rate was increased though the system it meant that
thrust was improved. When put to the flight test with the
combination of four thrusters, it was found that there was
not enough thrust to fly. After reanalyzing the third prototype
thruster it was determined that the were a few problems with
design of the thruster. A major problem is that the mass
flow rate must be increased more through out the system
in order to create more thrust. In order to fix both of these
problems a centrifugal compressor must be designed to bring
in the same volumetric flow rate as the The EDF and create a
pressure higher than 6.89 kPa within the system. Centrifugal
compressors are generally designed for a specific pressure
Fig. 9. Inlet vs outlet for each prototype. Prototype number 3 is shown to
have accelerated the fluid (air) through the system.
and volumetric flow rate [9]. The centrifugal compressor
should theoretically help because the inlet will be in the same
axis as the outlet.
The second testing phase, consisted on testing whether
multiple thrusters could be used to control and stabilize a
degree of freedom of a UAV. In this case, the degree of
freedom considered was the pitch angle of multi-rotor UAVs.
Both the pitch and roll angles of a multi-rotor UAV are essen-
tially controlled the same technique. The Pixhawk autopilot
and Mission Planner were used to program the platform, so
that it could be controlled with joysticks on a transmitter. In
order create a stable platform the PID controller integrated
into the Pixhawk needed to be tuned. The Pixhawk originally
had preset values for the PID controller but, it still needed
to be tuned to create efficient stabilization. The preset values
resulted in a platform with a noticeable amount of oscillation
as it reached the set point. The P value was then reduced,
which led to less oscillation; however, the oscillation still
needed to be dampened. The D value was then increased
to dampen the oscillation, which then led to better results.
Lastly, it was noted that the stabilization speed of the system
was slow. This meant that the I value needed to be increased.
The system was tested one final time to confirm the PID
controller was fully tuned. The results of all previous testing
confirmed that a bladeless multi-rotor UAV can be properly
controlled in aerospace.
The third testing phase, consisted of finding the best
distance the thrusters can be separated as well as testing four
thrusters in three degrees of freedom. Testing for the best
separation distance of the thrusters was done so by mounting
two thrusters on a wood beam which is connected to the
Fig. 10. Test platform used to test three degrees of freedom.
first test platform. The center of the beam was placed on recorded were 9 and -10.
the platform so that the thruster could be placed at equal During the trial there was only one disturbance that
distances from each other. The thrusters were able to be occurred, see Figure 12. The disturbance occurred because
adjusted by sliding them closer to each other on the beam. there was a power loss to the system during the end of
The original distance was set to be 60.69 cm from each trial. This happened because the wires that connected from
other. The best distance was tested to be 35.56 cm. From the battery to the power module of the Pixhawk overheated
60.69 cm to 45.72 cm, it was found that the system would which caused the solder melt off and the wires to fall off. Be-
be too stable. In other words, it was found to be more stiff sides the disturbance, the results of the tuned PID controller
than agile. The distance of 35.56 cm was chosen because contributed to a much more stable platform in comparison to
of the agility, stability as well as the consideration of the the previous trial. The maximum and minimum output values
intake. If the thrusters were brought closer together it was
determined that there would be a disturbance from the intake
of the EDFs facing the same way. When testing the platform
in three degrees of freedom the combination of pitch, roll,
and the yaw heading were tested. just like the first platform,
the Pixhawk autopilot and Mission Planner were used to
program the platform, so that it could be controlled with
joysticks. After testing it was determined that the bladeless
thruster system could be used to control pitch roll and yaw
but due to the set up, the platform did not result to be as
stable as predicted. Both pitch and roll worked well together
as long as an angle past 30 degrees was not exceeded. The
PID Controllers were tuned so the 30 degree angle was not
exceeded. Any movement past 30 degrees caused the test
platform to loose control and created a ”gyroscopic effect”.
The gyroscopic effect is used to describe the uncontrollable
spinning created when loss of control occurred. This loss of
control was most likely due to the combination of the ball in
socket of the tripod not being located directly on the center
of mass of the platform, as well as the moments of inertia
of each motor acting on different planes. Figure 11 through
Figure 14, is the IMU data recorded by the accelerometer and
gyroscope on the x-axis and y-axis of the Pixhawk after each
Fig. 11. Data from accelerometer/gyro on the x-axis for the un-tuned PID
flight or trial. Figure 15 through Figure 16 represent the data controller. Multiple disturbances detected on one trial due to instability.
recorded by the accelerometer and gyroscope on the z-axis.
There was a total number of two trials performed. The first
trial represented the un-tuned results and the second was the
tuned results. The rotation around the x-axis is commonly
known as the roll angle of the UAV. The rotation around the
y-axis is commonly known as the pitch angle of the UAV.
The ability to stabilize after a disturbance from an outside
force was also put to the test. The disturbance was created
by hitting the platform with a team members hand. The
gyroscope or gyro data is represented by the blue line chart
and the accelerometer date was represented by the orange
line. The accelerometer was mainly analyzed to interpret the
data. The Pixhawk also detects and records the data from
when the platform looses control. The IMU gyroscope and
accelerometer data was extracted from mission planner to
excel to produce a similar chart that is clearer to read.
During the trial there was a total of six drastic disturbances
that which can be seen in Figure 11. It can also be noted that
the roll angle under went a high amount of oscillation when
trying to return to the original position. The oscillation is one
of the factors that created an unstable platform. It can also
be noted when the accelerometer had to work the hardest to Fig. 12. Data from accelerometer/gyro on the x-axis for the un-tuned PID
controller. One disturbance was detected on one trial.
regain stability. The maximum and minimum output values
were 4 and -8, which indicated that platform was much more
stable when compared to the maximum and minimum values
of the first trial. It can be seen in data sample 200, 300,
600, and 1800 all had a successful return to the original
set point after each maneuver. Data sample 1200 and 1300
were caused by the disturbance applied to the y-axis. data
sample 1400 was a disturbance applied to the z-axis. Those
disturbances also had an effect on the x-axis which is why
it was recorded on the graph. Towards the end of the trial
the response of roll to disturbances was tested. The first
disturbance on the x-axis can be seen on data sample 2100.
The second can be seen on data sample 2200. The Reason
that there is a disturbance recorded on data sample 2200 is
because the power loss occurred after the disturbance was
applied. Besides the technical issue it can be seen that the
trial in controlling the roll angle was a success.
It can be seen in Figure 13, that the accelerometer reached
an output of -13 frequently while trying to return to origi-
nal set point. The maximum and minimum output values
recorded were -13 and 6. This indicates that the platform
was not stable before PID controllers were tuned because the
accelerometer had to work hard to keep the platform stable
while trying to return to original position. The oscillation that
occurred when the platform tried to return to the set point
can be also noted from the graphs. In the trial, the obsessive
oscillation is one of the reasons that a a drastic disturbance
occurred.
It can be seen in Figure 14, that tuning the PIDs for the
pitch created a much smoother line than the un-tuned trial.
The accelerometer did not surpass an output of 4 when trying
to reach the original position or set point. The maximum
Fig. 13. Data from accelerometer/gyro on the y-axis for the un-tuned PID
controller. It can be seen that high amounts of oscillation occurred for the
pitch angle.
and minimum output values were 3 and -4. This indicated
that the accelerometer did not have to work as hard to
stabilize after each maneuver. Data sample 200, 500, 600,
700, 1600, and 1700 were all maneuvers performed via joy
sticks, and all had a successful return to the original set
point. Two disturbances were created for the pitch angle. The
first disturbance was created by hitting the platform from the
bottom causing the platform to tilt upwards. Shortly after,the
second disturbance was created by hitting the platform from
the top, causing it to tilt downwards. The first one can be
seen between data sample 1100 and 1200, the second one
can be seen between data sample 1200 and 1300. On both
disturbances it can be seen that the platform successfully
returns to original set point. A disturbance was applied to
the yaw angle shortly after the second disturbance which can
be seen on data sample 1200. The third disturbance affected
both pitch and roll as well. This is the reason why it was
detected on the y-axis.
The yaw heading was observed to have a much slower
response rate than the conventional quadcopter. It was found
that the reason for this is due the force of the moments of
inertia being located half way between the center of the UAV
and the end of the thruster. This greatly reduces the torque
used to control the yaw angle. It was also observed that when
inputting a high amount of power into controlling the yaw
angle, the system would loose control and bank off to the
side and created the gyroscopic effect previously described.
This is due to the moments of inertia of the motors all
acting on different planes which the Pixhawk is not designed
to process. The Pixhawk auto pilot is specifically designed
for the moments of inertia of the conventional quadcopter.
This is due to the moments of inertia being located half
way between the center of the body and the edge of the
Fig. 14. Data from accelerometer/gyro on the y-axis for the un-tuned PID
controller. The improvement can be seen when being compared to the graph
from above.
thruster. This essentially means that the yaw heading has less
torque when compared to the traditional multi-rotor UAV.
To solve the problem encountered each motor was placed
at a 10 degree tilt. The front motors were tilted forward 10
degrees, so that the exit of the nozzle faces the back two
motors. The back two motors were tilted back 10 degrees so
that the exit of the nozzle faces the front two motors. The
idea was implemented to create more torque and stability
when controlling the yaw angle. The tilt implemented created
a more stable platform but the PIDs still needed to be
tuned in order to maximize stability and reduce oscillation.
The graphs from the data recorded from the gyroscope and
accelerometer on the z-axis are shown below to show the
comparison of before and after the PID tuning. The angle
around the z-axis is commonly known as the yaw heading.
The Gyroscope data is represented by the red line and the
accelerometer date was represented by the green line.
By looking at Figure 15, it can be seen that the trial
resulted in an unstable platform. Besides the multiple dis-
turbances detected, it can be seen that there is multiple ex-
cessive output points recorded from the accelerometer. These
excessive points represent the disturbances and moments of
high instability of the platform during the trial.The maximum
and minimum output values recorded were -15 and -2. This
indicates that the accelerometer had to work hard in order
to attempt to return to the original set point, which further
proves that the first trial resulted in an unstable platform.
By looking at Figure 16, it can be seen that the trial
resulted in much more favorable results in comparison to
the un-tuned platform graph. It can be seen that there was a
much smoother line. The maximum and minimum output
Fig. 15. Data from accelerometer/Gyro on the z-axis for the un-tuned
PID controller. Excessive oscillation and instabilities can be seen from the
accelerometer data.
values recorded were -11 and -7. Data sample 200, 400,
600 and 1800 represent the maneuvers performed via joy
sticks with the highest amount of output. It can be seen
that all successfully returned to the set point. Data sample
1600 represents the disturbance applied to the z-axis. It
can also be seen that the system was able to successfully
stabilize its self after the disturbance. This trial indicated
proves that controlling the yaw heading is possible with the
incorporation of the tilted thrusters.
VI. C ONCLUSION
The bladeless propulsion system is an alternative to ex-
posed propellers like that of multi-rotor UAVs. The thrusters
are designed to avoid the risks that propellers present to
human life, property, and our environment. Although this
design does not provide sufficient thrust for flight it was
still proven that the pitch roll and yaw can be controlled.
At first the yaw heading was almost impossible to control
because of the gyroscopic effect created. The gyroscopic
effect, which referred to the uncontrollable spinning created
when loss of control occurred, was most likely due to the
combination of multiple problems. The first was because of
the moments of inertia of each motor acting on different
planes. The second was that the ball in socket of the tripod
was not located directly on the center of mass of the platform.
In order to solve this problem the tilt to the thrusters
were implemented to counteract the gyroscopic effect. The
adjustment proved to be a solution to this problem. The
combination of implementing the tilt and tuning the PID
controllers for the x, y, and z-axis resulted in a successful
platform that can be controlled in four degrees of freedom.
Fig. 16. Data from Accelerometer/Gyro on the z-axis for the un-tuned PID
controller. A smoother trail can be seen when compared to figure 13.
 A. Future Research Directions
The current performance of the thruster has the possibility
of being resolved by replacing the EDFs with a centrifugal
air compressor. The compressor will have to be designed so
that the inlet will lie on top of the UAV, so that it follows
the principles of propulsion stated in [3]. Furthermore, the
design will aim at generating the same mass flow rate of the
EDF at the inlet, as well as creating a pressure higher than
6.96 kPa within the current design of the nozzle.
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