Abstract
Multi-rotor vehicles use complex mechanisms and/or mechanical components and varying rotor speeds to attain stability, control, and maneuverability. This research proposes variable camber shape morphing blades for thrust generation. The goal is to use minimum number of mechanical components and produce varying thrust levels without varying the rotor speeds. This mechanism-free concept is referred to as the Solid-State Rotor by the authors. The concept employs morphing blades with strain-inducing actuators such as the Macro-Fiber Composite device. This concept uses onboard electronics powered by an electromagnetic generator attached to the rotor. The excitation of the strain-inducing actuators on the rotor blades changes the camber of the rotor blades, which leads to a change in thrust. In this paper, first, the concept is described. Next, aerodynamic analyses are conducted using a theoretical model based on the XROTOR software to predict the aerodynamic performance of variable camber piezocomposite rotors for various geometric and flow properties.
