A Comparative Study to Characterize the Effects of Adverse Weathers on the Flight Performance of an Unmanned-Aerial-System

There are very few experimental projects related to unmanned aerial vehicle performances under adverse weather conditions, which refer to any weather event which increases the risk of having an accident. The primary objective of this research is to experimentally study the flight performance of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) under windy, icing conditions by using the data acquired through onboard sensors. The experimental study was conducted in authorized airspace near Boone, IA. A quadcopter was utilized for this research, and all the test flights were fully autonomous between takeoff and landing. The experimental portion of the flight has fixed geolocation and trajectories in the designed missions. The variations in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) power consumption were investigated during a fixed loiter time. It was found that the ice accreted on the propeller reflects glaze ice's complex characteristics. The glaze ice changes the shape of the leading edge and is very irregular. This transformation in aerodynamic shape greatly affects the lift and drag characteristics of the airfoil, thereby reducing the propeller’s efficiency. The measurement results of the atmospheric parameters were also correlated with the UAS altitude data and power consumption data to elucidate the underlying physics for a better understanding of the effects of adverse weather on flight performances. The findings derived from this study are believed to be essential and helpful in elucidating the understanding of the energy consumption of drones due to icing and wind variations.