Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Empirical Evaluation Of Ground, Ceiling, And Wall Effect For Small-Scale Rotorcraft, Stephen Austin Conyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ground effect refers to the apparent increase in lift that an aircraft experiences when it flies close to the ground. For helicopters, this effect has been modeled since the 1950's based on the work of Cheeseman and Bennett, perhaps the most common method for predicting hover performance due to ground effect. This model, however, is based on assumptions that are often not realistic for small-scale rotorcraft because it was developed specifically for conventional helicopters. It is clear that the Cheeseman-Bennett model cannot be applied to today's multirotor UAVs. Experimental findings suggest that some of the conventional thinking surrounding helicopters cannot …