Experimental evaluation of Wall Effect for small UAVs in Climate-Controlled Environments

Control and navigation for indoor flights of small rotor-craft are notable fields of study, yet the analysis of perturba- tions has received less attention. Indoor environments have many advantages in terms of stability of the climatic conditions but the presence of objects and delimiting surfaces such as walls, ceilings and floors can deteriorate the overall performance. Uncontrolled flows of air created around the UAV can rebound on surfaces and destabilize or even cause a collision. While ground effect is a more popular phenomenon due to its impact on helicopters, wall and ceiling effects often remain unmentioned in literature. In this paper, we focus on wall effect for small scale multi-rotors, in particular four rotor UAVs. The main concern of this study is to find a relationship between the forces and moments suffered by the vehicle and the distance to a wall. Also, an analysis based on pressure and temperature has been performed for a more insightful view on the topic. Eventually, the experimental results of this work could be a source of data for the development of a model of this effect, helping in the design of control strategies.