Ananya Iyer

Experimental Investigation Studying Effect of Width and Pitch of Quadcopter Propeller Blade on Resultant Thrust

Started Aug. 18, 2025

Abstract or project description

Multirotor platforms used in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for aerial cinematography often face a lot of flight stability problems due to the aerodynamic forces produced by the propeller geometry. The 6035 propeller blades are popular with beginner drones but slight differences in blade size can heavily alter the thrust and subsequent handling of the vehicle. The purpose of this study is to systematically investigate the effect of changing blade width and blade pitch of a quadcopter propeller blade on the static thrust generated by the propeller, and thus the effect on the stability of aerial photography down stream of the propeller. To achieve an affordable and sustainable prototyping model, the multiple prototype variants of the geometric design were CAD designed and 3D printed, based on a baseline 6035 control propeller. Four different configurations were tested: a standard 3D printed 6035 blade, an increased pitch variant (6045 profile), a width-extended 6035 blade, and a combined hybrid variant with increased pitch and increased chord width. Results indicated that the 3D-printed version and the commercially available control blade were identical, as both generated 39.02 grams of thrust at a low motor speed (1050 µs). Modifying blade shape individually increased thrust. Increasing blade pitch to 6045 resulted in 48.87 grams of thrust. Further increasing thrust to 58.04 grams was achieved by widening the blade. The hybrid blade was the most effective, also increasing thrust, to 73.17 grams, nearly 100% of the original thrust.However, the data pointed out the limits of increasing blade size. Increasing aerodynamic profile and weight of the hybrid blade increased drag, and led to connection glitches in the data logs and excessive thermal stress on the electronic speed controller (ESC). Therefore, wider blades are good for generating the thrust necessary to stabilize a camera drone, but the combination of widening the blades and increasing the pitch also applies the thrust to the limits of the ESP and increases the risk of burning the system out. These results provide a predictive framework for propeller modifications to improve stability and prevent damaging power overloads during filming missions. They also connect the structural additive manufacturing parameters with real UAV flight dynamics.