I'm designing a quadcopter weighing around 250 grams, while maintaining a thrust-to-weight ratio of 2:1
Optimize: Maximize the thrust-per-watt for the motor+propeller pair
Constraints:
- weight of each motor + propeller pair: ≤ 30 grams
- thrust of each motor: ≥ 125 grams
Everything else (frame size, drone shape, battery, motor, propeller, number of blades in propeller) is flexible and can be changed as needed.
In order to maximize the flight time, I will require a motor + propeller combination that is efficient in terms of thrust/power.
How does one go about optimizing the motor+propeller design?
Current Approach:
Look at datasheets provided by manufacturers and check if the given motor matches my constraints.
For example, the EMAX MT2204 motor weighs 25 grams and provides a thrust of 240 g using 51.2 W power using a 6x3 propeller. That puts its thrust/power at 4.7 g/W
Issues:
- The propeller chosen by the manufacturer might be suboptimal (since they often try to choose a propeller that maximizes thrust rather than the one that maximizes thrust/watt)
- The manufacturer might not report performance data at around 125 grams of thrust
- Manufacturers usually reports the spec sheets for FPV racing communities, and maximizing the flight time isn't a major concern for them
Is there a way to mathematically model or simulate the design of motor+propeller in order to maximize the efficiency?