Post-movement stabilization time for the downwash region of a 6-rotor UAV for remote gas monitoring

Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have been used to monitor gas emissions for research projects, though downwash, the airflow produced by the UAV rotors, is potentially capable of artificially altering gas concentration measurements. Anemometers, placed at ten different distances below a 6-rotor UAV, measured air speeds in the downwash region. The collected data was used in combination with UAV rotor speed data to determine the stabilization time of the downwash region after the UAV has returned to a stable hovering position. The stabilization time will determine the amount of time after UAV movement until reliable concentration readings can be obtained within the downwash region. This paper presents stabilization times after vertical upward and rotational UAV movement.