All projects
UAV rotor acoustics
Noise and thrust of coaxial and offset drone rotors, measured in an anechoic chamber.
- When
- 2021 – 2022
- My role
- Undergraduate researcher
- Where
- CATS anechoic chamber, Penn State
How much quieter (or louder) do drone rotors get when you stack them, offset them or change the blade count? This campaign measured thrust and noise across a wide set of configurations so the trade-offs could be compared directly.
Each configuration got an RPM sweep in the CATS anechoic chamber, with a microphone array recording the acoustics and load cells under each rotor measuring thrust.
What I did
- Ran RPM sweeps on 18–20 in drone rotors, measuring both acoustics and performance.
- Compared coaxial and offset layouts and the azimuth phasing between rotors.
- Tested 2-, 3- and 6-blade hubs, different hub types and five blade designs.
- Rotors sat on thermal shrouds with load cells, with a microphone array around the stand.
Photos
