Aerodynamic performance of different airfoils for a future Mars Helicopter

Evaluation of aerodynamic performance of rotors for future Mars helicopters. Aerodynamic evaluation of multiple blade profiles for a future Mars helicopter is presented using vacuum chamber experiments. A small-scale Mars helicopter prototype, that was chosen to explore deep craters present on the red planet surface, was fastened to a specifically designed test structure and the generated thrust was then measured for different airfoils, rotor speeds and angles of attack. Afterwards, thrust coefficients were extrapolated from these measurements and compared with one another leading to interesting results such as performance improvement with decreasing thickness and increasing camber, good performance of triangular airfoils and E178 airfoil improving performance with decreasing Reynolds.