A Study on the Vibration Characteristics of EO/IR Gimbal for UAVs

Abstract

The miniaturization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the resulting precision control technology have significantly grown in the modern world, and accordingly the development of smallsized surveillance equipment is urgently needed. This study aims to examine the vibration characteristics for the development of a 2-axis stabilization gimbal for small UAVs. Modal analysis and Harmonic
response analysis were conducted to develop a 2-axis EO/IR gimbal with less than 300g. It examined the vibration characteristics of the gimbal in the range of 180Hz to 720Hz, which is the vibration frequency band due to the propeller rotation of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as the stability of the system. It analyzed the vibration characteristics of gimbal by using a commercial finite element program (Ansys Workbench). This study investigated the structural stability of the system by analyzing the resonance frequency and the vibration characteristics of gimbal frame, considering the vibrations from disturbances in UAVs. Modeling was carried out in consideration of the miniaturization and light weight of a 2-axis EO/IR Gimbal, and mesh optimization was performed by using Tetrahedron Mesh to improve the reliability of the vibration analysis result.