Date of Award
Spring 4-17-2026
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
First Advisor
Yong Bai
Second Advisor
Baolin Wan
Third Advisor
Keyang Yu
Abstract
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for building façade inspections has increased in recent years as it offers significant benefits including reduced cost, maneuverability, and safety. UAVs engaged in building façade inspections faces challenges with maintaining stability, avoiding collision, and achieving full building coverage when wind is present in the environment. Another challenge encountered in façade inspections is the UAV mass for use under a certain wind condition and the right PID controller gain needed to be applied. This study investigates the performance of different UAV masses and wind speeds on tracking a helical path around a cylindrical building at 10 m distance from the façade’s edge. The proposed study’s methodology was validated in MATLAB and Simulink using a generic point-mass UAV dynamic model. Three UAV masses (1,3,and 5 kg) and six wind speeds (4.47, 6.71, 8.94, 11.1,13.41, and 15.65 m/s) were simulated under seven gain configurations. The results show that deviation from the predefined path was higher as wind speed increased especially for the 1 kg mass. The 5 kg mass showed better resistance to wind disturbances and maintained stable trajectory more than the 1 and 3 kg mass. The findings of this study highlight the importance of right controller tuning and UAV mass selection when inspecting building facades under different wind disturbances.