A flexible propelled arm: Mechanical considerations for the use in UAVs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a 3D-printed soft propelled arm for UAVs, emphasizing its flexible design, collision safety, environmental adaptability, and optimized thrust efficiency through simulations and material adjustments.

Contribution

It presents a novel soft propelled arm design for UAVs using 3D printing with adjustable flexibility and optimized thrust, supported by mechanical and CFD simulations.

Findings

Flexible arm reduces collision risk.

Adjustable infill controls flexibility.

Optimized thrust efficiency through CFD.

Abstract

This paper presents a soft propelled arm, 3D-printed in TPU 70A, designed to be used in flexible UAVs, an advantageous concept since it reduces risk in the event of a collision thanks to a high energy absorption. The proposed design also allows the possibility to adapt to the environment and land on pipelines. The flexibility of the arm can be controlled during the additive manufacturing process by adjusting the infill rate or internal density. In this work, a mechanical design based on simulations with an experimentally adjusted 5- parameter Mooney-Rivlin non-linear model is proposed. Thrust efficiency is also maximized through CFD simulations.