DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A DUCTED-FAN UAV FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 2 Sayı: Aviation Technologies and Applications Conference (ATAConf'25) Special Issue, 117 - 143, 31.12.2025

Ferudun Efe Ketme

Öz

As in many military and civilian areas, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is increasing in agricultural applications. The configuration of the UAV to be used in these applications is selected by taking into consideration features such as efficiency, payload capacity, and maneuverability. This study aims to design and develop a ducted-fan UAV for agricultural applications such as plant health monitoring. Common UAV designs like the quadcopter used in agriculture often suffer from low efficiency and a high risk of damage in dense environments such as crop fields because of their open propellers. Compared to multi-rotor UAVs, ducted-fan design can protect the UAV from dense environments and increase the efficiency of the propeller. Ducted fan UAVs generally consist of a single propeller placed inside a duct and fins placed under the propeller that allow the aircraft to move in different directions by changing pitch and roll moments with respect to the center of gravity of the UAV. In the study, a special propeller and a duct are designed to meet the requirements set for the UAV design. The designed propeller and duct for the ducted-fan UAV makes the design unique and reduces the cost of the UAV. To validate the proposed propeller design, aerodynamic analysis is done in ANSYS Fluent, and the results are presented. A controller for the ducted fan UAV is designed and it is tested on a model of the UAV created in Matlab Simulink used by Simscape Toolbox. As a result of tests carried out in a simulation environment, it is observed that the designed UAV is capable of being used in agricultural applications.

Anahtar Kelimeler

UAV , Ducted-Fan , Propeller Design , ANSYS , Simscape

TARIMSAL AMAÇLI KANALLI FANLI İHA'NIN TASARIMI VE GELİŞTİRİLMESİ

Öz

Askeri ve sivil birçok alanda olduğu gibi, tarımsal uygulamalarda da insansız hava araçlarının (İHA) kullanımı artmaktadır. Tarımsal uygulamalarda kullanılacak İHA konfigürasyonu, verimlilik, yük kapasitesi ve manevra kabiliyeti gibi özellikler dikkate alınarak seçilmektedir. Bu çalışma, bitki sağlığı izleme gibi tarımsal uygulamalar için kanallı fanlı bir İHA tasarlamayı ve geliştirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Tarımda kullanılan dört pervaneli hava araçları gibi yaygın İHA tasarımları, açık pervaneleri nedeniyle genellikle düşük verimlilik ve ekin tarlaları gibi yoğun ortamlarda yüksek hasar riskinden mustariptir. Çok rotorlu İHA'lara kıyasla, kanallı fanlı tasarım, İHA'yı yoğun ortamlardan koruyabilir ve pervanenin verimliliğini artırabilir. Kanallı fanlı İHA'lar genellikle bir kanal içine yerleştirilmiş tek bir pervane ve pervanenin altına yerleştirilmiş kanatçıklardan oluşmaktadır. Bu kanatçıklar, İHA'nın ağırlık merkezine göre eğim ve yuvarlanma momentlerini değiştirerek farklı yönlerde hareket etmesini sağlar. Çalışmada, İHA tasarımı için belirlenen gereksinimleri karşılamak üzere özel bir pervane ve kanal tasarlanmıştır. Kanallı fanlı İHA için tasarlanan pervane ve kanal, İHA tasarımını özgün kılmakta ve İHA maliyetini düşürmektedir. Önerilen pervane ve kanal tasarımlarını doğrulamak için ANSYS Fluent programında aerodinamik analiz yapılmış ve sonuçlar sunulmuştur. Kanallı fanlı İHA için bir kontrolcü tasarlanmış ve Simscape Toolbox kullanılarak Matlab Simulink'te oluşturulan bir İHA modeli üzerinde test edilmiştir. Simülasyon ortamında yapılan testler sonucunda, tasarlanan İHA'nın tarımsal uygulamalarda kullanılabilir olduğu görülmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

İHA , Kanallı Fan , Pervane Tasarımı , ANSYS , Simscape

Kaynakça

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