Simulations of drone aerodynamics in an indoor environment

• Main Author: Chan, Jun Ting
• Other Authors: New Tze How Daniel
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering; DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering::Aerodynamics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75666
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Advancements in Technology in the recent years has brought about convenience for the people and is in some cases has saved lives. Some examples will be the usage of robots to aid bomb disposal units, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the military as surveillance and reconnaissance and even usage of drones to snap aerial videos and photos. This has in turn give rise to the increase in usage of drones within the general population. Furthermore, drones are small enough to navigate through tight spaces and corners which are unreachable by man and even able respond to emergencies faster than any man. Hence, with studies conducted to allow a single operator to control a swamp of drones, this study aims to incorporate this technology as an emergency system to aid data centers in times of power failure through investigating the effects of drone aerodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Using the open source OpenFOAM 4.1 and RANS turbulence modelling method, an operating scenario of the drone aerodynamic in the data centre was simulated. A simplified computational domain was created to represent the geometries of the drone downwash in a walkway, 1m by 1m, with 2m racks on 2 sides. Boundary conditions and other domain properties were chosen to represent the real scenario as close as possible. For the geometry, it is generated using double grading to provide for a finer meshes close to the walls and floor. The drone is tested at different hovering heights (y = 2m / 1.5m / 1m). Temperature evaluation of the downwash is obtained through the simulation in OpenFOAM to determine the heat transfer efficiency through convection and conduction, which are the only mechanisms affecting the outcome. In conclusion, the lower the hovering height of the drone, the higher the overall change in temperature will be.