11 III March 2023

https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2023.49727
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

Design and Analysis of Quad Copter Chassis Using

Shape Optimization Technique
Srawanee Sreeramoju1, M. Sreenivasa Rao2
1
Research scholar & Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNTUH, Telangana, India
2
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNTUH, Telangana, India.

Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are replacing many traditional methods ranging from simple play toys to critical
defense operations. UAVs or drones that are the little flying machines are used in space, defense, food delivery, pest sprays for
agriculture, consumer goods delivery, land-surveillance and the list goes on. However, the physics behind it demands a lesser
weight for drone to fly high as lesser the weight, lesser is the power required to operate. In all the components that make up a
drone, is the frame that is most important structure which holds and bears everything at place. So the material used for the drone
frame plays a very crucial role for it should have a lesser mass but sufficient strength. In this work, frame is modeled taking into
consideration, its sturdiness and stress analysis is conducted using Autodesk Fusion 360 software and compared for different
materials of frames from plastics to metals and the design is shape optimized to meet the objective.
Keywords: Unmanned aerial vehicles; drone frames; design optimization; stress analysis; FEM analysis; Shape optimization;

I. INTRODUCTION
A drone is a flying machine which is a pilotless aircraft formally known as UAV. Since it does not need a human pilot and taking
the advantage of sizing the UAV as per the requirement, the application areas are far very wide for a UAV. They are used in
agriculture, monitoring, transportation, goods delivery agent, land-surveillance, inspection [1] only to name a few. To be able to fly,
drones must be able to generate upward thrust to overcome their own weight. This makes drone a weight critical object where any
additional gram on the flying machine will turn out to be costly. Another important aspect that cannot be overlooked is the need to
cut down material utilization to as much as possible. Material depletion rates are alarming and so are the pollution rates, which
demands to lessen material wastage and landfill. On the design side of a drone, higher the material, higher is the weight. Higher the
weight, higher will be the power consumption. So a design that can cut down material without affecting the strength and mechanical
properties is a great opportunity to overcome all the limitations that come from a larger mass [2]. Every gram that is lessened can
improve the performance of drone like increased payload carrying capacity, extended flight times, better maneuverability, less
material consumption, low power consumption, less wastage that means less pollution and landfill, and more economical.

A. Quad copter frame

Frame is the structure of drone. It holds and bears everything at place acting as a skeleton to fit in all the components of drone. The
size of the frame is measured as the diagonal distance between motors. If this dimension is less than 150mm, the size is categorized
under micro, otherwise it is considered as a mini. Depending on the no. of motors, drones are named as tri-copter, quad-copter, hex-
copter, etc. of which quad-copter is the most popular design for the following reasons: mechanical simplicity, quantity of motors and
Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs) required for flight and their compact size.

II. PROBLEM STATEMENT

In this work, frame is chosen as weight critical component. Unibody design will be stiffer and stronger, hence as unibody quad-
copter is considered in this work for which shape optimization of frame is carried out to attain a low mass structure without
affecting the strength [3].
Since weight is directly proportional to cost, that includes the flight times, range, material depletion, material wastage, pollution are
a few that makes up to total cost of a heavy weight object, shape optimization tool is utilized to reduce the weight of the component.
Shape optimization technique is applied to drone frame to reduce the mass of the frame without affecting the strength, sturdiness
and stiffness of the frame.

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1569
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

III. OBJECTIVE
1) To design simple multi-functional frame for higher payload capacities (about 2.14 kg)
2) To make a simple but aesthetically appealing design
3) To make a low weight component
4) To make a good strength frame
5) Should be economical

IV. GENERAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF QUAD COPTER FRAME

A. Basic Design of Quad Copter Frame
The quad copter frame is designed to hold all the components in place. Design is carried out as per the figures 1 and 2 shown below.
Frame size is 210 mm for a 4 to 5 inch propeller which is the diagonal distance from motor to motor. Each motor is positioned at
right angle to adjacent motor to ensure stability and equal weight and thrust distribution [4, 5]. Three most popular materials used
for drone frame are selected viz., Aluminium [6, 7], Al A356 T6 [8] and ABS plastic [9,10] keeping in mind their mechanical
properties like strength, rigidity (as shown in table 1), weight, cost and availability.

Fig. 1 Design specifications of quadcopter frame structure

Fig. 2 Quadcopter frame (basic model)

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1570
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

Table 1 Comparison of properties between Al, Al A356 T6 and ABS plastic for basic model
Property Aluminium Al A356 ABS
T6 Plastic
Density kg / mm^3 2.7E-06 2.67E-06 1.06E-06
Mass g 216.661 214.254 85.06
Volume mm^3 80244.84 80244.84 80244.84
Young’s Modulus E (MPa) 68900 72400 2240
Poisson’s Ratio 0.33 0.33 0.38
Moment of Inertia (g mm^2)
Ixx 4.342E+05 4.294E+05 1.705E+05
Iyy 6.629E+05 6.555E+05 2.602E+05
Izz 1.094E+06 1.082E+06 4.295E+05
Yield Strength MPa 275 165 20
Ultimate Tensile Strength 29.6
310 234
MPa

Table 2 shows the components of drone that frame carries along with quantity and weight [11-14]. In current work, frame design is
made to withstand a load of 2.14 kg (ie. 21N)

Table 2 Components of drone that frame carries along with quantity and weight
S. Name of the Component Quantity Weight (in
No. grams)
1 Motors 4 138
2 Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) 4 412
3 Flight control board 1 82
4 5” Propellers 4 10
5 Battery 4 600
6 GPS, electronics, power distribution cables 100
Total approximate weight 1342

B. Analysis of Basic Design of Quad Copter Frame

Quad copter frame is analyzed for static stress [15, 16] using Fusion 360 software for which the following materials are considered:
Aluminium, A356 T6 and ABS plastic.
1) Boundary Conditions: The motor mount holes (4X4=16) are fixed (Fig 3)
2) Loading Conditions: Weight of 21N is applied on the frame, along with thrust of 10N for each motor acting upwards. (Fig 4)
3) Mesh Settings: Fine mesh of tetrahedron shape of absolute size of 1mm is created with 760746 nodes and 518391 elements.

Fig 3 Motor mount holes are fixed Fig 4 A payload of 21N is applied on the frame

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1571
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

C. Comparative analysis of basic design of quad copter frame made of Al, A356T6, ABS plastic
The Maximum displacement and Stress for Aluminium material is as shown as fig 5 and 6 respectively below.

Fig 5 Maximum displacement Fig 6 Stress distribution

Stress and maximum displacement for Al A356 T6 is as shown in fig 7 and 8 respectively
Fig 7 Stress distribution Fig 8 Maximum displacement

Stress and maximum displacement for ABS is as shown in fig 9 and 10 respectively

Fig 9 Stress distribution Fig 10 Maximum displacement

The following table no 3 compares the static stress analysis results of all three materials used.
Table 3 Comparison of static stress analysis results for Al, Al A356 T6 and ABS plastic of basic model
Property Aluminium Al A356 T6 ABS Plastic
Min Max Min Max Min Max
Factor of Safety 15 15 15 15 4.303 15
Von Mises Stress
1.001E-04 4.622 1.001E-04 4.623 1.031E-04 4.648
MPa
Displacement mm 0 0.01391 0 0.01324 0 0.4216
Reaction Force N 0 1.277 0 1.279 0 1.259
Strain 2.534E-09 1.072E-04 2.412E-09 1.02E-04 7.35E-08 0.003431
The ultimate factor of safety (FOS) used in aircraft can be about 1.5. In general, an FOS of 2 is considered as a standard for tested
structures and 3 for untested structures. The most important thing in aircraft application is it should have the lowest weight possible
[2]. The FOS based on yield strength of materials is 15 for Al as well as Al A356 T6 whereas for ABS plastic it is 4.303. Amongst
other factors, it is mainly weight that has its impact on the FOS and the least weight is with ABS plastic as it is only 39.26% of the
weight of Al and 39.7% of the weight of Al A356 T6. So, ABS plastic is chosen for further analysis such that the strength is not
compromise while further reducing the weight of the frame using shape optimization technique.

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1572
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

V. SHAPE OPTIMIZATION AND STRESS ANALYSIS OF QUAD COPTER FRAME MADE OF ABS PLASTIC
A. Shape Optimization of Quad Copter Frame (Iteration 1)
Fusion 360 software is used to shape optimize the basic model of quad copter frame designed to bring out the best of the design. The
following is the 1st iteration of the design to cut down mass and material. The 1st iteration is the basic model of the quad copter
frame on which the boundary conditions and loads are applied as discussed in section 4.2. Shape optimization or otherwise
topology optimization is applied to find the regions in the design component that does not contribute much to load or otherwise
whose absence does not affect the strength, stiffness or rigidity of the component [17 to 23].

B. Analysis of Shape Optimized Quad Copter Frame

On simulating for optimizing shape of the basic model, the target is set to reduce mass by at least 30%. This is done by modifying
the design in every iteration such that the design still meets the strength criteria. The 1st iteration is worked out on the basic model
(fig 2), and the stress distribution is studied (Fig 11). The blue color region in fig. 11 shows that the region has negligible stress and
that region is not contributing much in carrying the load and hence can be reduced. The basic model is redesigned keeping in mind
the stress distribution and fig. 12 is the outcome whose weight came down to 76.75g.

Fig 11 Iteration 1: a) Basic model of the quad copter frame b) Stress distribution on basic model quadcopter frame

Fig 12 Iteration 2 a) shape optimized design b) stress analysis

On further applying shape optimization technique on fig. 12, fig. 13 is resulted. The weight of the final component is 54.54g with a
35% weight reduction. Lesser weight gives more flight time and payload capacity to the drone. The maximum stress in the final
component after shape optimization is 3.238MPa and the minimum FOS is 6.39.

Fig 13 Iteration 2 a) shape optimized design b) stress analysis

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1573
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

VI. RESULT
After applying shape optimization technique on the basic design, the design properties and the static stress analysis results are
tabulated as Table 4. From table 4 it is evident that the mass of the frame came down to 54.54g from 85.06g, ie. 35.88% of weight is
reduced which is way more than the target set (ie. 30%) and with a minimum of factor of safety of about 6.39 which is also greater
than the standard set (ie. 3) for the design.

Table 4 Comparison of static stress analysis results and design properties for SO I, SO II and SO X
Property SO Iteration 1 SO Iteration 2 SO Iteration X
Mass g 85.06 76.75 54.54
Density g / mm^3 0.001 0.001 0.001
Volume mm^3 80244.84 72405.478 51452.701
Center of Mass mm (0.00,0.00,2.189) (0.00,0.004,2.098) (0.005,0.001,1.736)
Moment of Inertia at Center of
Mass (g mm^2)
Ixx 1.705E+05 1.695E+05 1.654E+05
Iyy 2.602E+05 2.396E+05 1.672E+05
Izz 4.295E+05 4.080E+05 3.316E+05
Factor of Safety 4.303 6.026 6.39
Von Mises Stress MPa 4.648 3.319 3.13
Displacement mm 0.4216 0.4208 0.4821
Reaction Force N 1.259 3.358 3.768
Strain 0.003431 0.002277 0.002194

REFERENCES
[1] Faiyaz Ahmed, J. C. Mohanta, Anupam Keshari, Pankaj Singh Yadav, Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Review, Arabian Journal for Science
and Engineering, volume 47, pages 7963-7984 (2022) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-022-06738-0
[2] John J. Zipay, C. Thomas Modlin Jr., Curtis E. Larsen, The ultimate factor of safety for aircraft and spacecraft – its history, applications and misconceptions,
57th AIAA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference, 2016. https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/6.2016-1715
[3] Swapnil Yemle, Yogeshwar Durgude, Ganesh Kondhalkar, Ketan Pol, Design & Analysis of Multi-Frame for Octo & Quad Copter Drones, International
Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, Volume: 06 Issue: 06, Page 2935- 2939
[4] S. Meivel, S.Maheswari, Design and aluminium framework of drone using solidworks, International Journal of Grid and Distributed Computing, Vol. 12, No. 2,
2019, pg 85 to 97. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340594698,
[5] Puneeth Nagaraju Obli, Quad copter Frame Optimization, June 2020 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342038780
[6] Prajwalkumar M. Patil, Mallikarjun B. Koujalagi, Krishna Toli, Modeling, analysys & fabrication of quadcopter (uav) with payload drop mechanism,
International journal of research in advent technology, Special Issue, March 2019, E-ISSN: 2321-9637, 2019. www.ijrat.org
[7] Ali Magdi Sayed Soliman, Suleyman Cinar Cagan, Berat Baris Buldum, The design of a rotary‑wing unmanned aerial vehicles–payload drop mechanism for
fire‑fighting services using fire‑extinguishing balls, Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-019-1322-6
[8] Muhammad A. Muflikhun, Elmer R. Magsino, Alvin Y. Chua, Design of a quadrotor uav aluminum casting frame, RCMME 2014.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272164971
[9] Ivan Palinkas, Jasmina Pekez, Eleonora Desnica, Aleksandar Rajic, Dorian Nedelcu, Analysis and Optimization of UAV Frame Design for Manufacturing
from Thermoplastic Materials on FDM 3D Printer, Materiale Plastice, 58 (4), 2021, 238-249. https://doi.org/10.37358/MP.21.4.5549
[10] MohamedZain, A.O.; Chua, H.; Yap, K.; Uthayasurian, P.; Jiehan, T. Novel Drone Design Using an Optimization Software with 3D Model, Simulation, and
Fabrication in Drone Systems Research. Drones 2022, 6, 97. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6040097
[11] https://www.foundationstructures.com/ for finding weight of all components used in drone
[12] K. Anilkumar, K. Sumanth, B. Kishore, T. Kondalarao, N. Jagadeesh, Analysis of quadcopter, International Journal of Engineering Science and Computing,
March 2019, pp 20358 – 20361. http://ijesc.org/
[13] https://www.modalai.com
[14] https://robu.in
[15] M Urdea, Stress and vibration analysis of a drone, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2021. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1009/1/012059
[16] Swarna Uma Maheswara Chary, B.Purna Chandra Sekhar, Design and optimization of drone jammer antenna using structural analysis, Journal of
interdisciplinary cycle research,Volume XII, Issue XI, November/2020, Issn no: 0022-1945, Page No: 425 to 430
[17] Yee Ling Yap , William Toh , Anthoni Giam , Feng Rong Yong , Keen Ian Chan , Justin Wei Sheng Tay , Soo Soon Teong , Rongming Lin , Teng Yong Ng ,
Topology Optimization and 3D Printing of Micro-Drone: Numerical Design with Experimental Testing, International Journal of Mechanical Sciences (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2022.107771
[18] Sung Hoon Chung , Bhawesh Sah , Jinkun Lee, Optimization for drone and drone-truck combined operations: A review of the state of the art and future
directions, Computers and Operations Research 123 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2020.105004

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1574
 International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET)
ISSN: 2321-9653; IC Value: 45.98; SJ Impact Factor: 7.538
Volume 11 Issue III Mar 2023- Available at www.ijraset.com

[19] Nagadurga Srinivas Sripada, A methodology for topology and lattice structure optimization of a cargo drone motor mount, 2018. https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-
ir/handle/10106/27218
[20] Ali Ahrari, Ali A. Atai, Fully Stressed Design Evolution Strategy for Shape and Size Optimization of Truss Structures, Computers and Structures 123 (2013) pg
58–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2013.04.013
[21] T.R.Costa, M. P. Caldas, P. M. N. Araujo, E. C. Silva, Topological Optimization applied towards the development of a small and lightweight MAV composite
frame, 10th International Micro-Air Vehicles Conference November 2018. http://www.imavs.org/pdf/imav.2018.7
[22] Sven Maricic, Iva Mrsa Haber, Ivan Veljovic, Ivana Palunko, Implementation of optimum additive technologies design for unmanned aerial vehicle take-off
weight increase, Eureka: Physics and Engineering. https://doi.org/10.21303/2461-4262.2020.001514
[23] Mohammad Shaqura, Jeff S. Shamma, An Automated quadcopter cad based design and modeling platform using solidworks api and smart dynamic assembly,
14th International conference on informatics in control, Automation and Robotics 2017- Volume 2, pp 122-131. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006438601220131

©IJRASET: All Rights are Reserved | SJ Impact Factor 7.538 | ISRA Journal Impact Factor 7.894 | 1575