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- On fire, it soars: new technology will protect UAVs from extreme temperatures
On fire, it soars: new technology will protect UAVs from extreme temperatures
Russia has developed a system to protect drones from extreme heat. The engineering team of students presented a universal solution for the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in deserts and high temperatures. The development has no analogues and allows the UAV to operate at temperatures up to +60 degrees, ensuring stable operation of key systems at +30 degrees. Where such protection can be applied and what are the prospects for its implementation — in the Izvestia material.
Additional protection for Russian UAVs
Russia has developed a UAV protection system for operation at extremely high temperatures. The universal solution was presented by the youth engineering team of students of the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Polytechnic College named after N.N. Godovikov.
The technology is designed to operate unmanned aircraft systems in desert and hot regions. According to the press service of the University 2035, the system has no direct analogues and ensures the stable operation of drones at ambient temperatures up to +60 degrees, maintaining the temperature of key onboard components at a level of up to +30 degrees.
The system is a compact cooling module weighing about 1.2 kg, designed for installation on aircraft-type drones. It consists of a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an expansion valve, a refrigerant and a set of pressure and temperature sensors. The structure is mounted inside the UAV body on the elements of the power frame.
— The project has no direct analogues due to the uniqueness of the task being solved. The developed system is a groundwork for expanding UAS application scenarios in desert regions," said Timofey Shanin, a member of the team.
The principle of operation is based on a closed refrigeration cycle: the refrigerant removes excess heat outside the body, after which, cooling and evaporating, it reduces the temperature of the on-board equipment. This prevents overheating of the electronics during prolonged use in hot climates. Extreme temperature conditions were simulated using a heat gun. During the tests, it was confirmed that the system ensures stable operation of the equipment at an external temperature of up to +60 degrees, while the temperature of the protected nodes did not exceed +32 degrees. The mechanical strength of the structure was also confirmed.
The cost of the prototype was about 25 thousand rubles, which makes the solution promising for further implementation. The developers note that the technology will help expand the possibilities of using unmanned aircraft systems in regions with hot climates, including the southern territories of Russia and foreign markets.
In the future, the team plans to conduct additional tests of the system in conditions of high humidity and dustiness, as well as optimize its weight and energy consumption. After completing the improvements, the authors of the project are ready to consider installing the system on potential customers' drones.
The project was created within the framework of the federal program "Personnel for UAS", operated by University 2035. The practical part of the training took place with the participation of the Aeromobility Directorate of MAI. The development was carried out on the basis of the Grozny State Petroleum Technical University named after academician M.D. Millionshchikov.
Areas of application and use of the technology
Extreme heat or frost (+50...-40 degrees) by themselves are not critical for most modern drones, says Pavel Kamnev, commercial director of Laboratory of the Future, market expert at NTI Aeronet. According to him, with proper aerodynamics and design of aircraft-type UAVs, additional cooling is often not required, and in desert conditions, dust and sand become the main threat.
"In the desert, it is more important to protect the propeller group and optics from sand, and active cooling may be necessary only in really extreme conditions, for example, at industrial facilities," he noted.
The presented solution is an important engineering step for UAS operation in hot climates, said Vyacheslav Barbasov, CEO of Drone Solutions, market expert at Aeronet Research Institute. He stressed that active heat dissipation complements existing approaches to drone protection and should be considered as part of comprehensive all-weather solutions.
— Maintaining the temperature of the nodes below +32 degrees with external heat up to +60 degrees is a key reliability factor. Actively cooling electronics in the desert heat is a symmetrically difficult task, which is solved by the development of the MAI team," he explained.
Drone electronics are extremely sensitive to overheating, said Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions. According to him, even simple UAS carry several computing systems on board, and overheating of radio equipment is possible during prolonged operation under load.
— When the power of the video transmitter exceeds 1 Watt, cooling becomes vital. In conditions where the device is exposed to the sun for hours with the electronics turned on, such a system can multiply the autonomous standby time," the expert added.
The emergence of a universal protection system expands the geography of the use of drones, according to military expert Dmitry Kornev. According to him, such technologies are especially in demand in regions with abnormally high temperatures, where standard cooling systems for civilian and semi-professional UAVs cannot cope with the load.
— If the module is really capable of maintaining the operating temperature of the electronics at about +30 degrees in the external heat, this is a serious claim to technological leadership. An easy and reliable solution can become an essential element of retrofitting reconnaissance and attack drones," Dmitry Kornev summed up.
The specialist believes that an attempt to create a universal thermoregulation module is the right direction.
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