Heat transfer analysis on brushless hexacopter motor 3508 590KV with CFD simulation

Drone technology has been used in many applications, such as for shipping goods, and is using a multirotor work principle which is a similar aircraft technology used in a traditional helicopter. Differ from helicopter, drone usually uses more than two rotors as more rotors provide a higher maximum lifting capacity, however, higher number of rotors makes it more expensive to be built and require a higher current output from the battery. This research uses the conduction transfer method and calculates heat generation using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation with Ansys software. The aim of this research is to analyze the heat transfer generated by the BLDC motor to the drone frame empirically and numerically. Since the heat generated by the brushless motor affect the joint of the drone arm and motor, it is necessary to know the maximum temperature in the drone arm in order to choose suitable arm drone material. Based on the simulation results, the longer the flight time, the BLDC motor temperature is higher. The heat transfer rate of aluminum frame are 21.2 kW, 23.6 kW, and 25.6 kW at 5, 10, and 15 minutes respectively. Meanwhile, the heat transfer rate of brass frame are 18.1 kW, 20 kW, and 21.9 kW at 5, 10, and 15 minutes respectively. The longer drone operates, the greater heat transfer rate due to electromagnet in stator and movement in rotor.