Aerodynamic Investigation and Simulation Studies on Wing Section of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Attached with Solar Plate

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

1 Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu, 638401, India

2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mahendra Engineering College, Tamilnadu, 637503, India

3 Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Tamilnadu, 603103, India

Abstract

The paper investigates the aerodynamic performance and power requirement characteristics of wing sections integrated with high-lift airfoil to support the operation of solar-powered Unmanned Aerial vehicle (UAV). The flight mission is aimed to simulate the operation of solar-powered UAVs under low -speed environment. The research focuses on studying the aerodynamic effect of non-solar UAV wing model and solar UAV wing model for the varying angle of attack. The UAV wing models are tested using a subsonic wind tunnel to validate the aerodynamic characteristics at low-speed condition. The aerodynamic parameters such as coefficient of lift (Cl), coefficient of drag (Cd), coefficient of pressure (Cp), and the total power required to accelerate the solar UAV are studied to maintain steady level flight.  The solar UAV and non-solar UAV wing models were subjected to a computational process to examine the pressure and velocity distributions for the aerodynamic performance analysis.  Evident results show that the solar cells positioned at the flow separation region of the UAV wing model produces an aerodynamic efficiency rate of 5.45% and required 37.13W of minimum power compared to non-solar UAV at the Reynolds number of 9.8  106.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Alan, G. E., Reyes, O., Luis, A. B., Omar, L. B., Octavio, G. S., & Patricia, Z. R. (2019). Conceptual design of an unmanned fixed-wing aerial vehicle based on alternative energy. International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 1(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/8104927##
Ashleigh, T., Immanuel, N. J., Christiaan, M., Dmitri, B., & Rupert, G. (2020). A comprehensive review of energy sources for unmanned aerial vehicles, their shortfalls and opportunities for improvements. Heliyon, 6(11), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05285##
Bharath, G.,  Hikaru, O.,  Inderjit, C., & Justin, W. (2017). Basic understanding of airfoil characteristics at low reynolds numbers. Journal of Aircraft, 55(1),1-23. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C034415##
Chih, W. C.,  Der, M. M., Jaw, K. S., & Jie, R. S. (2010). Optimal sizing and cruise speed determination for solar powered airplane. Journal of Aircraft, 47(2), 622-629. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.45908##
Daniel, P. (2012). Aircraft Design - A conceptual Approach. sixth edition, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astranautics incorporated, Virginia.##
Guo, F.,  Huang, C. & Lei, J. (2013). Numerical study of separation on the trailing edge of a symmetrical airfoil at a low Reynolds number. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 26(4), 918-925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2013.06.005##
Halil, C,. Kadir, A. D., &  Nafiz, A. (2015). Unmanned aerial vehicle domain: Areas of research. Defence Science Journal, 65(4), 319-329. https://doi.org/10.14429/dsj.65.8631##
Jin, W., &  Lee, Y. G. (2014). Computational analysis of the aerodynamic performance of a long endurance UAV. International Journal of Aeronautical and  Space sciences, 15(4), 374-382. https://doi.org/10.5139/IJASS.2014.15.4.374##
John, D. A. (2010). Fundamentals of Aerodynamics. fifth edition, McGraw-Hill Education Publishing Ltd, United States.##
Karthik, R. B. S., & Aneesh, P. (2017). Performance analysis of solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle. Renewable Energy, 104(1), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.12.008##
Kyosic, S., Jon, A., & Hoyon, H. (2018). Mission analysis of solar UAV for high-altitude long-endurance flight. Journal of  Aerospace Engineering, 31(3), 1-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000832##
Mamdouh, G. S. (2003). Can renewable and unconventional energy sources bridge the global energy gap in the 21st Century. Applied Energy, 75(1),33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-2619(03)00016-3##
Morgado, J., Pascoa, J. C., Silvestre, M .A. R., & Vizinho, R. (2016). XFOIL vs.CFD performance predictions for high lift low reynolds number airfoils. Aerospace  Science and Technology, 52(1), 207-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2016.02.031##
Nelson, J. P. B.,  Julio, E. P. V., John, J. V. R., Pedro, D. B., & Hernan, D. C.  (2016).Design and manufacture of a solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle for civilian surveillance Missions. Journal of Aerospace Technology and Management, 8(4), 385–396. http://dx.doi.org/10.5028/jatm.v8i4.678##
Panagiotou, P., Tsavlidis, I & Yakinthos, K. (2016). Conceptual design of a hybrid solar MALE UAV. Aerospace  Science and  Technology, 53(1), 207-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2016.03.023##
Parvathy, R., & Howard, S. (2018). Development of design methodology for a Small solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle. International Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 2018, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2820717##
Rowayne, E. M., Mehdi, N., & Amanda, J. H. (2020). Solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle: A numerical approach in improving solar cell performance. International  Journal of Aerodynamics, 7(1),61-82. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJAD.2020.107162##
Sivaraj, G., Paramasivam, K., & Suganya, G. (2018). Reduction of aerodynamic drag force for reducing fuel consumption in road vehicle using basebleed, Journal of Applied fluid mechanics, 11(6),1489-1495. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1888/1/012016##
Spedding, G. R., & McArthur, J. (2010). Span Efficiencies of Wings at Low Reynolds Numbers. Journal of Aircraft, 47(1), 120-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/1.44247##
Suraj, G., Shivam, S., & Ankur, D. (2020). Review of solar unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV) and its sustainability. Engineering Technology and Research, 2(1),001-006. https://doi.org/10.15413/etr.2020.108##
Xinhua, L., Kaijun, S., & Feng, L. (2020). General optimal design of solar powered           unmanned aerial vehicle for priority considering propulsion system. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 33(8), 2176-2188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2020.04.009##
Yauhei, C., Chunleung, H., Yoonjo, L., & Boyang, L. (2021) Development of a solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle for extended flight endurance. Drones, 5(2),1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones5020044##
Ziheng, L. (2021). Prototype of a solar powered fix-winged unmanned aerial vehile. IOP Conference series: Journal of Physics 1(1),1-9. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2029/1/012016##