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Flight Stability Analysis of a Symmetrically-Structured Quadcopter Based on Thrust Data Logger Information
by
Endrowednes Kuantama 1,†, Ioan Tarca 2,†
, Simona Dzitac 3,†, Ioan Dzitac 4,5,*,†,‡ and Radu Tarca 6,†
Endrowednes Kuantama 1,†, Ioan Tarca 2,†, Simona Dzitac 3,†, Ioan Dzitac 4,5,*,†,‡ and Radu Tarca 6,†
1
Engineering Doctoral School, University of Oradea, St. Universitatii, 1, 410087 Oradea, Romania
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automotives, University of Oradea, St. Universitatii, 1, 410087 Oradea, Romania
3
Department of Energy Engineering, University of Oradea, St. Universitatii, 1, 410087 Oradea, Romania
4
Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, St. Elena Dragoi, 2, 310330 Arad, Romania
5
R & D Center: “Cercetare Dezvoltare Agora”, Agora University of Oradea, St. Piata Tineretului, 8, 410526 Oradea, Romania
6
Department of Mechatronics, University of Oradea, St. Universitatii, 1, 410087 Oradea, Romania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
‡
Current address: Department of Mathematics—Computer Science, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, St Elena Dragoi, 2, 310025 Arad, Romania.
Symmetry 2018, 10(7), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym10070291
Received: 23 June 2018 / Revised: 11 July 2018 / Accepted: 17 July 2018 / Published: 19 July 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solution Models based on Symmetric and Asymmetric Information)
Quadcopter flight stability is achieved when all of the rotors–propellers generate equal thrust in hover and throttle mode. It requires a control system algorithm for rotor speed adjustment, which is related with the translational vector and rotational angle. Even with an identical propeller and speed, the thrusts generated are not necessarily equal on all rotors–propellers. Therefore, this study focuses on developing a data logger to measure thrust and to assist in flight control on a symmetrically-structured quadcopter. It is developed with a four load cells sensor with two-axis characterizations and is able to perform real-time signal processing. The process includes speed adjustment for each rotor, trim calibration, and a proportional integral derivative (PID) control tuning system. In the data retrieval process, a quadcopter was attached with data logger system in a parallel axis position. Various speeds between 1200 rpm to 4080 rpm in throttle mode were analyzed to determine the stability of the resulting thrust. Adjustment result showed that the thrust differences between the rotors were less than 0.5 N. The data logger showed the consistency of the thrust value and was proved by repeated experiments with 118 s of sampling time for the same quadcopter control condition. Finally, the quadcopter flight stability as the result of tuning process by the thrust data logger was validated by the flight controller data.
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Keywords:
thrust; data logger; sensor; quadcopter; measurement; control system; stability
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MDPI and ACS Style
Kuantama, E.; Tarca, I.; Dzitac, S.; Dzitac, I.; Tarca, R. Flight Stability Analysis of a Symmetrically-Structured Quadcopter Based on Thrust Data Logger Information. Symmetry 2018, 10, 291.
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