Cylindrical lithium-ion structural batteries for drones

The low cost, simplicity, and easy use of battery-powered multirotor aircraft has led to their adoption in commercial, industrial, agricultural, and military applications. These aircraft, however, have limited payloads and shorter endurance and range than fuel-powered conventional aircraft. To extend these key performance metrics, a structural battery is developed that uses commercially available battery cells as load bearing and power source elements for weight critical applications. The cylindrical structural battery is tested in three-point bending and is found to have four times higher stiffness and two times higher yield strength than the structure without battery reinforcement. Simulations of a quadcopter, redesigned with the proposed cylindrical structural batteries, demonstrate 41% longer hover time.