A hydrogen-powered drone and its control method

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of drone technology, and in particular to a hydrogen-powered drone and a control method thereof. The drone described in the present invention patent uses a hydrogen fuel cell as a power source. By arranging a hydrogen storage tank at the top of the inner cavity of the drone body and a hydrogen fuel cell at the bottom of the inner cavity, a long-term drive of the rotor is achieved, thereby enabling the drone to adapt to the requirements of long-flight and large-scale mission scenarios. Secondly, a stable triangular support structure is formed through a unique three-pronged wing arm layout. Two brushless motors are installed at the end of each pronged wing arm, forming a power system with a total of six rotors. This layout significantly improves power redundancy, that is, when any rotor or even a rotor on a single pronged wing arm fails, the remaining rotors can provide stronger asymmetric torque compensation capabilities. Combined with a specific control algorithm, it can effectively maintain the basic flight attitude and controllability of the drone, greatly improving flight safety and reliability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and in particular to a hydrogen-powered UAV and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of drone technology, its applications in aerial photography, surveying and mapping, inspection, logistics, and other fields are becoming increasingly widespread. Traditional lithium-battery-powered drones, limited by their energy density, generally suffer from short flight times, severely restricting their ability to perform long-duration, wide-area missions. Hydrogen fuel cells, with their high energy density and zero emissions, are considered an effective solution to addressing this drone endurance bottleneck, leading to the emergence of hydrogen-powered drone technology.

[0003] However, practical applications of hydrogen-powered drones still face numerous challenges. For example, hydrogen fuel cells require a highly stable hydrogen supply pressure. During cruise, especially during missions involving varying altitudes (such as mountainous and hilly terrain), existing drones experience significant fluctuations in external atmospheric pressure, which directly impacts the effective pressure supply of the hydrogen tanks. Unstable or insufficient hydrogen supply pressure can cause the fuel cell's output power to fluctuate or even decrease, making it difficult to maintain the sustained, stable power requirements of complex routes, impacting flight performance and range. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen-powered drone and a control method thereof, which are used to solve the technical problem of short flight time caused by the limited battery energy density of existing lithium battery-powered drones.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a hydrogen-powered drone, comprising: a drone body and three bifurcated wing arms arranged on the drone body, wherein two bifurcated wing arms are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the front end of the drone body, and the other bifurcated wing arm is arranged at the rear end of the drone body, and both ends of the bifurcated wing arms are provided with brushless motors; a hydrogen storage tank is provided at the top of the inner cavity of the drone body, and a hydrogen fuel cell is provided at the bottom of the inner cavity, and the air vent of the hydrogen storage tank is connected to the hydrogen inlet of the hydrogen fuel cell through an adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve; a camera is provided on the lower side of the front end of the drone body.

[0006] Secondly, the drone body is provided with a control module, which includes an IMU sensor and a supercapacitor.

[0007] The hydrogen-powered drone is not only equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell, but also a small lithium battery to power the control circuit. That is, high-power devices such as rotors are powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and low-power devices such as control circuits are powered by small lithium batteries. Secondly, a supercapacitor is also provided to compensate for the power of the hydrogen fuel cell when the hydrogen-powered drone performs instantaneous high-maneuverability flight actions.

[0008] On the other hand, the present invention provides a control method for a hydrogen-powered drone, wherein the drone body is provided with a control module, the control module including an IMU sensor and a supercapacitor, and the control method includes:

[0009] The cruise path information of the hydrogen-powered UAV is obtained, and cruise flight is performed based on the cruise path information. During the cruise flight, the opening and closing degree of the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve is adjusted in real time based on the altitude fluctuation parameter in the cruise path information, thereby dynamically adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure value of the hydrogen fuel cell. The current flight attitude is detected in real time through the IMU sensor. When the flight attitude exceeds the threshold, the compensation power of the supercapacitor is calculated based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, so that the hydrogen-powered UAV can fly according to the cruise path.

[0010] The hydrogen supply pressure value of the hydrogen fuel cell is dynamically adjusted based on the altitude fluctuation parameter, including:

[0011] ;

[0012] in, is the hydrogen supply pressure value, is the membrane characteristic sensitivity coefficient, =0.03; ; The standard temperature value is obtained through feedback from the temperature sensor set at the standard point; is the standard pressure value, which is consistent with the standard temperature value corresponding; is the altitude; is a natural constant; is the sea surface temperature; is the relative humidity at sea level; To compensate for temperature fluctuations caused by altitude, i.e. temperature compensation; To compensate for humidity fluctuations caused by altitude, that is, humidity compensation.

[0013] Secondly, when the flight attitude exceeds the threshold, the compensation power of the supercapacitor is calculated based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, including:

[0014] When the IMU sensor detects that the pitch rate of the hydrogen-powered drone is greater than 15° / s and the yaw rate is greater than 20° / s, it is determined to be in a high maneuverability state. At this time, the supercapacitor is used to compensate the hydrogen fuel cell power. The power compensation is calculated as follows:

[0015] ;

[0016] in, is the climb rate (m / s), is the steering angular velocity (rad / s), The current quality of hydrogen drones changes dynamically with the flight time of hydrogen drones. is the propeller efficiency, which changes dynamically with the altitude H, is the starting resistance coefficient is the relative air density at sea level, H is the altitude, is the current flight speed of hydrogen drones, is the acceleration due to gravity, t is the time, is the moment of inertia of the hydrogen drone in the vertical direction, is the angular acceleration coefficient, Output power for current hydrogen fuel cells;

[0017] Secondly, Used to simulate and calculate the climbing power of hydrogen-powered UAVs, Used to simulate and calculate the steering power of hydrogen-powered drones, is the climb coefficient, which is affected by the altitude H of the hydrogen-powered UAV and the current mass of the hydrogen-powered UAV. Changing and dynamic.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] The UAV described in this patent uses hydrogen fuel cells as its power source. By installing a hydrogen storage tank at the top of the UAV's main body and a hydrogen fuel cell at the bottom of the inner cavity, the rotors can be driven for a long time, enabling the UAV to adapt to long-flight, large-scale mission scenarios. Secondly, a stable triangular support structure is formed through a unique three-pronged wing arm layout (two symmetrically on both sides of the front end and one at the rear end). Two brushless motors are installed at the end of each pronged wing arm, forming a power system with a total of six rotors. This layout significantly improves power redundancy. That is, when any rotor, or even a rotor on a single pronged wing arm, fails, the remaining rotors can provide stronger asymmetric torque compensation capabilities. Combined with a specific control algorithm, it can effectively maintain the basic flight attitude and controllability of the UAV, greatly improving flight safety and reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a hydrogen-powered drone;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional image of a hydrogen drone;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the central axis of the hydrogen-powered drone.

[0024] Figure Number:

[0025] 1-UAV body; 2-Bifurcated wing arm; 3-Brushless motor; 4-Antenna; 5-Camera; 6-Hydrogen storage tank; 7-Hydrogen fuel cell; 8-Adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0027] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating directions or positional relationships, are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0028] Example 1: Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, this embodiment provides a hydrogen-powered drone, comprising: a drone body 1 and three bifurcated wing arms 2 provided on the drone body 1, wherein two bifurcated wing arms 2 are symmetrically provided on both sides of the front end of the drone body 1, and another bifurcated wing arm 2 is provided at the rear end of the drone body 1, and both ends of the bifurcated wing arms 2 are provided with a brushless motor 3;

[0029] A hydrogen storage tank 6 is provided at the top of the inner cavity of the drone body 1, and a hydrogen fuel cell 7 is provided at the bottom of the inner cavity. The vent of the hydrogen storage tank 6 is connected to the hydrogen inlet of the hydrogen fuel cell 7 through an adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve 8;

[0030] A camera 5 is provided at the lower side of the front end of the drone body 1 .

[0031] Secondly, the drone body 1 is provided with a control module, which includes an IMU sensor and a supercapacitor. The supercapacitor is used to compensate for the instantaneous insufficient pressure supply of the hydrogen fuel cell during high-maneuverability flight.

[0032] The drone described in this embodiment uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its power source. By disposing a hydrogen storage tank 6 at the top of the inner cavity of the drone body 1 and a hydrogen fuel cell 7 at the bottom of the inner cavity, the rotors are driven for a long period of time, enabling the drone to adapt to the requirements of long-duration, large-scale mission scenarios. Furthermore, a unique three-pronged wing arm layout, two symmetrically located on either side of the front and one at the rear, forms a stable triangular support structure. Two brushless motors are mounted at the end of each pronged wing arm, forming a power system with a total of six rotors. This layout significantly improves power redundancy. In other words, if any rotor, or even one rotor on a single pronged wing arm, fails, the remaining rotors can provide stronger asymmetric torque compensation capabilities. Combined with a specific control algorithm, this effectively maintains the drone's basic flight attitude and controllability, greatly improving flight safety and reliability.

[0033] Example 2: Hydrogen-powered drones still face numerous challenges in practical applications, such as the high stability requirements of hydrogen fuel cells for hydrogen supply pressure. During cruise, particularly when performing missions involving varying altitudes (e.g., mountainous and hilly areas), existing drones experience significant fluctuations in external atmospheric pressure, which directly impacts the effective supply pressure of the hydrogen storage tank. If the hydrogen supply pressure is unstable or insufficient, the fuel cell output power will fluctuate or even decrease. To overcome these technical challenges, this example, based on Example 1, provides a control method for a hydrogen-powered drone. The control method comprises:

[0034] Step S100, obtain the cruise path information of the hydrogen-powered UAV, and perform cruise flight based on the cruise path information. During the cruise flight, the opening and closing degree of the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve 8 is adjusted in real time based on the altitude fluctuation parameter in the cruise path information, thereby dynamically adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure value of the hydrogen fuel cell 7, and the current flight attitude is detected in real time by the IMU sensor. When the flight attitude exceeds the threshold, the compensation power of the supercapacitor is calculated based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, so that the hydrogen-powered UAV flies according to the cruise path. Specifically, the hydrogen-powered UAV will obtain the current altitude based on the GPS and cruise path information, and calculate the current hydrogen supply pressure value based on the preset algorithm model, and then fine-tune the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve 8 based on the hydrogen supply pressure value. Secondly, the adjustment will be triggered only when the hydrogen supply pressure value fluctuation is greater than the minimum adjustment amount of the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve 8, that is, the calculation accuracy of the model is greater than the minimum adjustment accuracy of the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve 8.

[0035] Secondly, it should be noted that the main purpose of adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure is to stabilize the supply pressure of the hydrogen fuel cell, thereby eliminating the disadvantage of unstable hydrogen fuel cell supply pressure caused by altitude fluctuations, rather than adjusting the instantaneous power of the hydrogen fuel cell. Usually during cruising, the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell generally does not fluctuate greatly. This is determined by its physical results. As a result, when the UAV performs some instantaneous high-maneuverability flight actions, it is impossible to adjust the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell instantaneously. Instead, supercapacitors are used for power compensation. The specific compensation method is detailed below.

[0036] The method of dynamically adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure of the hydrogen fuel cell 7 based on the altitude fluctuation parameter includes:

[0037] ;

[0038] in, is the hydrogen supply pressure value, is the membrane characteristic sensitivity coefficient, =0.03; ; The standard temperature value is obtained through feedback from the temperature sensor set at the standard point. The hydrogen drone regularly updates the data through the wireless communication module. is the standard pressure value, which is consistent with the standard temperature value Correspondingly, the corresponding relationship is obtained by querying the comparison table; is the altitude; is a natural constant; is the sea surface temperature; is the relative humidity at sea level; To compensate for temperature fluctuations caused by altitude, i.e. temperature compensation; Humidity compensation is used to compensate for humidity fluctuations caused by altitude, i.e., to compensate for fluctuations in the conductivity of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) caused by changes in ambient humidity, thereby maintaining voltage output stability. Specifically, by increasing the hydrogen pressure, water molecules on the anode side are forced to penetrate into the membrane, thereby delaying dehydration.

[0039] The above model stabilizes the internal resistance of the fuel cell stack → smoothes the output voltage → extends the life of the fuel cell. At the same time, the model connects environmental parameters → material properties → system control into a causal chain, which is one of the core technologies for stable power supply of mountain hydrogen drones.

[0040] Among them, when the flight attitude exceeds the threshold, the compensation power of the supercapacitor is calculated based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, including:

[0041] When the IMU sensor detects that the pitch rate of the hydrogen-powered drone is greater than 15° / s and the yaw rate is greater than 20° / s, it is determined to be in a high maneuverability state. At this time, the supercapacitor is used to compensate the hydrogen fuel cell power. The power compensation is calculated as follows:

[0042] ;

[0043] in, is the climb rate (m / s), is the steering angular velocity (rad / s), The current quality of hydrogen drones changes dynamically with the flight time of hydrogen drones. is the propeller efficiency, which changes dynamically with the altitude H, is the starting resistance coefficient is the relative air density at sea level, H is the altitude, is the current flight speed of hydrogen drones, is the acceleration due to gravity, t is the time, is the moment of inertia of the hydrogen drone in the vertical direction, is the angular acceleration coefficient, is the current hydrogen fuel cell output power; the model roughly divides the power into climbing power and turning power. Among them, the climbing power is greatly affected by the weight of the hydrogen drone itself, so the dynamic hydrogen drone mass is introduced , hydrogen drone quality The relationship with time can be obtained by calculating the power consumption, that is, the cumulative sum of the dynamic power, and then loading the preset hydrogen energy loss coefficient to obtain the approximate hydrogen consumption. However, this calculation method is relatively rough and does not take into account the fluctuations in hydrogen loss caused by altitude fluctuations, etc. However, the overall impact of this fluctuation on the quality is small, and considering the amount of model calculation, the hydrogen energy loss coefficient is a fixed value.

[0044] Secondly, the vertical moment of inertia of the hydrogen drone Since the influence of mass is small, a fixed value is adopted and the impact of weight changes of hydrogen drones is ignored.

[0045] Secondly, Used to simulate and calculate the climbing power of hydrogen-powered UAVs, Used to simulate and calculate the steering power of hydrogen-powered drones, is the climb coefficient, which is affected by the altitude H of the hydrogen-powered UAV and the current mass of the hydrogen-powered UAV. Changing and dynamic.

[0046] The above description is only a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field, within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, who makes equivalent replacements or changes based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered by the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a hydrogen-powered UAV, comprising a UAV body (1), a hydrogen storage tank (6) provided at the top of an inner cavity of the UAV body (1), a hydrogen fuel cell (7) provided at the bottom of the inner cavity, an air vent of the hydrogen storage tank (6) being connected to a hydrogen inlet of the hydrogen fuel cell (7) via an adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve (8), and characterized in that: The drone body (1) is provided with a control module, the control module includes an IMU sensor and a super capacitor, and the control method includes: Obtaining the cruise path information of the hydrogen-powered UAV and executing a cruise flight based on the cruise path information, during which the opening and closing degree of the adjustable pressure supply solenoid valve (8) is adjusted in real time based on the altitude fluctuation parameter in the cruise path information, thereby dynamically adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure value of the hydrogen fuel cell (7), and detecting the current flight attitude in real time through the IMU sensor, and when the flight attitude exceeds a threshold, calculating the compensation power of the supercapacitor based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, so that the hydrogen-powered UAV can fly according to the cruise path; The method of dynamically adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure value of the hydrogen fuel cell (7) based on the altitude fluctuation parameter includes: ； in, is the membrane characteristic sensitivity coefficient, ; ; The standard temperature value is obtained through feedback from the temperature sensor set at the standard point; is the standard pressure value, which is related to the standard temperature corresponding; is the altitude; is the sea surface temperature; is the relative humidity at sea level; To compensate for temperature fluctuations caused by altitude, i.e. temperature compensation; This is humidity compensation based on humidity fluctuations caused by altitude. When the flight attitude exceeds a threshold, the supercapacitor compensation power is calculated based on the current flight attitude and the real-time power of the hydrogen fuel cell, including: When the IMU sensor detects that the pitch rate of the hydrogen-powered drone is greater than 15° / s and the yaw rate is greater than 20° / s, it is determined to be in a high maneuverability state. At this time, the supercapacitor is used to compensate the hydrogen fuel cell power. The power compensation is calculated as follows: ； in, is the climb rate (m / s), is the steering angular velocity (rad / s), The current quality of hydrogen drones changes dynamically with the flight time of hydrogen drones. is the propeller efficiency, which changes dynamically with the altitude H, is the starting resistance coefficient is the relative air density at sea level, H is the altitude, is the current flight speed of hydrogen drones, is gravity, For time, is the moment of inertia of the hydrogen drone in the vertical direction, is the angular acceleration coefficient, Output power for current hydrogen fuel cells; Secondly, Used to simulate and calculate the climbing power of hydrogen-powered UAVs, Used to simulate and calculate the steering power of hydrogen-powered drones, is the climb coefficient, which is affected by the flight altitude of the hydrogen drone and quality Changing and dynamic.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drone body (1) is provided with three bifurcated wing arms (2), wherein two bifurcated wing arms (2) are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the front end of the drone body (1), and the other is arranged at the rear end of the drone body (1), both ends of the bifurcated wing arms (2) are provided with brushless motors (3), and a camera (5) is provided on the lower side of the front end of the drone body (1).

Images