Investigation of propeller configuration effects on the flight stability of unmanned aerial vehicles

This study investigates the flight stability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by comparing two-, three-, and six-blade propellers. The experiment uses a self-made drone with a 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) frame and an Arduino-based flight control system to create an efficient UAV prototype. The flight tests are conducted in a controlled environment, eliminating flight confounders such as wind and temperature, and the three types of propellers are of similar size. Stability was assessed by measuring deviations in the drone’s X and Y axes while hovering within ±30 degrees, and standard deviation (SD) was calculated to quantify variability. The tests revealed that propeller count significantly impacts stability and overall performance. The three-blade propeller provided the best stability, with the smallest SD in the X-axis at 10.85 and Y-axis at 11.85, and showed the least deviation over ±30 degrees during take-off and flight. While the 2-blade propeller has the least stability in flight, with a value of 15.08 in the X-axis and 16.3 in the Y-axis, showing a deviation exceeding ±30 degrees several times throughout the test, the 6-blade propeller demonstrates intermediate performance, with a value of 12.71 in the X-axis and 15.57 in the Y-axis, which is more stable than the 2-blade propeller but still less stable than the 3-blade propeller. The results of this study provide UAV design data by studying the factors in selecting propellers with different numbers of blades for drones, presenting information on the importance of propeller selection for drone flight performance and stability. The results of this study can be applied to various drone applications, such as aerial photography, agriculture, or industry. Finally, in the future, other factors are expected to affect the differences in the number of blades regarding energy efficiency and flight duration.