Design and Analysis of a Small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Power Distribution System
Abstract
All electrically powered autonomous vehicles possess a system that distributes power to all the vital components of the vehicle. The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) uses group unmanned aerial systems (UASs) (weighing 20 lb) as the vehicle platform in several projects. These UASs are very fast and agile quadrotors, which typically have four rotors and light payloads, and can very quickly accelerate and effortlessly reach speeds over 100 kph, which require them to draw upward of 400 A at 30 VDC in bursts. As such, the motor/propeller combination requires large amounts of power relative to the size of the UAS. Up until this point, ARL UASs have been using commercial off-the-shelf power distribution boards (PDBs) to meet the power demands. A custom PDB would satisfy the DODs desire to source more UAS components domestically as it would be US designed and made, which is unique for this type of UAS component. This report considers the design of a custom PDB to include shape, size, components, cost, voltage regulators, peripherals, and so on. This report can be used as a starting point for engineers who are working on semiautonomous and fully autonomous vehicle projects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1183624
Entities
People
- Darren R. Webb
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory