VTOL Geometry

Overview

Adding Propeller Curves

The project settings must be updated with a valid propeller curve before a run can be successfully created for a geometry with a propeller assembly. TotalSim has provided an excel sheet for you to generate propeller curves, if you don't have one. Please note that data generated by that excel sheet can only be used as a placeholder and results generated by the excel sheet is not representative of your vehicle's performance. The excel sheet can be found at the bottom of this page.

Go to Project Config at the navigation menu on the left

Click on the drop-down arrow next to Propeller Curves.
Enter a propeller curve name (it can be anything, for example: DEFAULT).

Enter the RPM, Velocity at Propellers, and Thrust data for the propeller (copy from an Excel file). Example data is provided in the spreadsheet to the right. (Double click or click on the first cell and then press <F2> to input data. Data can be copied and pasted into the table.)
Click Save.
Click on Add Propeller Curve to upload additional propeller curves.
For the same Propeller Curve Table, you can enter curves for multiple RPMs. The app has the ability to interpolate across RPMs.
Additional information regarding the Propeller Curves can be found here.

Geometry Information for Uploaded Parts

The geometry can be split over three files. There are three types of parts are Default, Payload, and Hub; therefore, a separate file needs to be created for each of these geometry types and include only the appropriate parts for that category. Do not duplicate parts across the geometry files to be used in one simulation.

Use the instructions on the 'Uploading Geometry' page to upload parts. For each part (geometry file) you upload you will be required to select a geometry type. The following is a list of available types:

Default - Any geometry that is not a Payload, Hub, or Propeller.
Payload - Any geometry that is part of the payload.
Hub - Any geometry that is part of the propeller hub.

Note: Please do not upload part files for any propeller geometry. In this App, propellers are modeled numerically. You will find information on creating propellers below.

Be sure to separate your geometry into these groupings prior to upload. All files should be the same scale and the relative position of the parts should be consistent across all files.

Hub Parts

Geometry should be considered a hub where the center of the propeller intersects spinning support geometry. It is recommended that geometry be prepared this way because additional detail is applied to the intersection between the hubs and the propeller disk. In the tricopter example, the hubs have been split from the main assembly as shown below

Creating Propellers

Creating Dummy Propeller Part

This propeller part will act as a dummy part for a single/multiple propeller assembly.

Click on Parts then Create Basic Part button (middle button) and give it a name. Note: Basic Part names can not start with numbers or special characters.
Click on the part you just created and change the type to Propeller.

Enter the Radius and select the units.
For the Center point, I would suggest entering (0, 0, 0) for simplicity.
Enter the Thrust vector. The coordinate system is shown on the right.
Enter the desired Propeller Curve Table Name (created above under the Project Settings).
Click Save.
Click on the Assemblies tab.
Click on Create Assembly and give it a name. Note: Assembly names can not start with numbers or special characters.
Click on the assembly you just created..
Change the type to PropellerAssm.
Enter the coordinates of the propeller(s) you want to create as deltaX, deltaY, and deltaZ in millimeters from the propeller you generated the Parts section. If you entered (0, 0, 0) for the generated propeller part, this will just be the coordinates from your CAD software.
Enter the Trust Vector for each propeller.
Note: Each line of data entered is equal to one propeller that the assembly will generate (so 6 rows of data will generate 6 propellers).
Click on Save.

Click on Edit Parts under the Assembly
Select the Propeller you generated under the Parts section.
Click on Save
Repeat this Section if you have propellers with multiple radii.

Previous: Uploading Parts

Report abuse