Dynamic Modeling and Experimental Calibration of a Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle under Wind Disturbances

Abstract Low-altitude flight environments with multiple obstacles demand high unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) performance, while lightweight quadrotors are particularly vulnerable to wind disturbances. Consequently, developing a high-fidelity dynamic model that accounts for wind disturbances is crucial for understanding and characterizing their complex aerodynamic effects on quadrotor dynamics. This paper presents a quadrotor dynamic model that incorporates wind disturbances affecting both the propellers and the fuselage, considering more complex influencing factors. The model evaluates the impact of wind speed and propeller rotation speed on thrust, drag, and drag moment. The parameters are systematically calibrated via wind-tunnel experiments, with coefficients of determination ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper R squared" display="inline" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>R</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> ) exceeding 0.89 and root mean square errors below 0.45 for all identified parameters. The results also show that, compared with vertical wind speed, horizontal wind speed has a negligible effect on the vertical thrust of the propeller. In contrast, it significantly affects the drag moment, thereby influencing the attitude of the quadrotor. Furthermore, the relationship between fuselage drag and propeller drag under varying wind disturbance conditions is analyzed. The results reveal that the proportion of fuselage drag in the total drag varies with relative wind speed following a concave quadratic trend. In addition, when the UAV ascends vertically from the hovering state under a constant external wind speed, the proportion of fuselage drag in the total drag decreases gradually. The model provides a more comprehensive representation of the wind–vehicle interaction.