Multistage Mass Optimization
of a Quadcopter Frame
N. V. S. S. Sagar, Balasubramanian Esakki, Chandrasekhar Udayagiri,
and K. S. Vepa
Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are swiftly achieving their distinction
in the fields of defence and agriculture. Of all the UAVs, quadcopters are widely used
due to their inherent advantages like easy control and manoeuvrability. The need to
operate for a longer duration under suitable payload is perhaps an exacting task. The
flight time and efficiency of quadcopter typically rely on its weight. Among all the
parts of a UAV, frame is the structural member that takes up the entire load. Since it
constitutes up to 30% weight of the UAV, optimization of the UAV frame is highly
recommended. To study this, weight of an off-the-shelf model is optimized using
numerical schemes in two stages. In the first stage, optimization is done for the shape
of the frame using Design of Experiments (DoEs). In the second stage, optimization is
carried out for mass using topology optimization. Despite the considerable reduction
of mass in the design of experiments, mass is further reduced in the second stage,
i.e. topology optimization. Topology optimization yielded a complex-shaped model
that is difficult to manufacture using traditional methods hence the optimized model
is redesigned and validated using static structural finite element analysis.
Keywords Static structural analysis · Design of experiments · Topology
optimization and quadcopter frame
N. V. S. S. Sagar (B) · B. Esakki
Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
e-mail: nvsssagar@gmail.com
B. Esakki
e-mail: esak.bala@gmail.com
C. Udayagiri
Wipro 3D, Bengaluru, India
e-mail: rapidchandra@gmail.com
K. S. Vepa
GITAM (Deemed to Be University), Hyderabad, India
e-mail: sridhar.v.k@gmail.com
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Gascoin and E. Balasubramanian (eds.), Innovative Design, Analysis
and Development Practices in Aerospace and Automotive Engineering, Lecture Notes
in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6619-6_19
181
of a Quadcopter Frame
N. V. S. S. Sagar, Balasubramanian Esakki, Chandrasekhar Udayagiri,
and K. S. Vepa
Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are swiftly achieving their distinction
in the fields of defence and agriculture. Of all the UAVs, quadcopters are widely used
due to their inherent advantages like easy control and manoeuvrability. The need to
operate for a longer duration under suitable payload is perhaps an exacting task. The
flight time and efficiency of quadcopter typically rely on its weight. Among all the
parts of a UAV, frame is the structural member that takes up the entire load. Since it
constitutes up to 30% weight of the UAV, optimization of the UAV frame is highly
recommended. To study this, weight of an off-the-shelf model is optimized using
numerical schemes in two stages. In the first stage, optimization is done for the shape
of the frame using Design of Experiments (DoEs). In the second stage, optimization is
carried out for mass using topology optimization. Despite the considerable reduction
of mass in the design of experiments, mass is further reduced in the second stage,
i.e. topology optimization. Topology optimization yielded a complex-shaped model
that is difficult to manufacture using traditional methods hence the optimized model
is redesigned and validated using static structural finite element analysis.
Keywords Static structural analysis · Design of experiments · Topology
optimization and quadcopter frame
N. V. S. S. Sagar (B) · B. Esakki
Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
e-mail: nvsssagar@gmail.com
B. Esakki
e-mail: esak.bala@gmail.com
C. Udayagiri
Wipro 3D, Bengaluru, India
e-mail: rapidchandra@gmail.com
K. S. Vepa
GITAM (Deemed to Be University), Hyderabad, India
e-mail: sridhar.v.k@gmail.com
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Gascoin and E. Balasubramanian (eds.), Innovative Design, Analysis
and Development Practices in Aerospace and Automotive Engineering, Lecture Notes
in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6619-6_19
181