DTA

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Tesi etd-05192022-190641

Tipo di tesi
Corso Ordinario Secondo Livello
Autore
GIRARDI, LUCA
URN
etd-05192022-190641
Titolo
Study of a Quadrotor Drone with Soft and Anisotropic Structural Elements
Struttura
Cl. Sc. Sperimentali - Ingegneria
Corso di studi
INGEGNERIA - INGEGNERIA
Commissione
Tutor Prof. RICOTTI, LEONARDO
Relatore Prof. Mintchev, Stefano
Presidente Prof. CIARAMELLA, ERNESTO
Membro Prof. ODDO, CALOGERO MARIA
Membro Prof.ssa MENCIASSI, ARIANNA
Membro Prof. CASTOLDI, PIERO
Parole chiave
  • Flexural Anisotropy
  • Flight Dynamics
  • Mechanical Vibrations
  • Morphing Drones
  • Soft Aerial Robotics
Data inizio appello
20/06/2022;
Disponibilità
parziale
Riassunto analitico
Multirotor drones with inherent structural flexibility can outperform state-of-the-art rigid drones in morphing capabilities and impact resilience. Yet, flexibility challenges the stability of flight with reduced authority on the drone geometry and introducing lower frequencies oscillation modes. We propose a novel design of a quadrotor drone that uses soft structural elements. The inherent flexibility of the links between the propellers and the main structure brings improved impact resilience, passive squeezing upon interaction with the environment, and unseen morphing patterns in aerial robotics. First, we outline the design approach that exploits the anisotropy of the frame's flexural modulus, essential to have the drone fly despite its high flexibility. Second, we model the drone dynamics accounting for the geometric changes due to the frame's flexibility. The model is a reference for the future development of geometry-aware control strategies. Third, with the help of finite-element (FE) tools, we model the mechanical vibrations of the drone to filter out the specific vibration eigenfrequencies that destabilize flight. Finally, we report preliminary flight test results to show that carefully designed, continuously deforming structural elements do not hamper the stability and controllability of flight of a quadrotor drone while carrying inherent impact resilience and passive morphing capabilities. We believe the proposed design and study of the quadrotor drone with soft structural elements serve as an exemplary design protocol for the design of soft drones at different scales that impact a broad spectrum of application fields.
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