Aerodynamics and Design for Ultra-Low Reynolds Number Flight

Chapter 4
Hybrid Method for Rotor Design and
Analysis
4.1 Introduction
A rapid rotor analysis code and a closely related design code have been created for the
development of ultra-low Reynolds number rotors. These tools build upon the
exploratory two-dimensional aerodynamics analyses of Chapter 3 towards the goal of
designing, manufacturing, and testing micro-rotors for practical application. The toolset
consists of a rotor performance package coupled with a nonlinear optimizer and section
data from two-dimensional Navier-Stokes analyses. Key to the design capability is the
integration of theoretical or experimental motor data within the optimization framework.
The limited number of suitable small scale motors is a critical practical constraint and
the inclusion of motor curves assures that the design is developed at an obtainable
operating point. This code is currently applicable for the static thrust (hover) case only,
but the development of relations for steady climbing rotors is also described.
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