Design and development of composite structure for a micro-UAV
This report describes the design process and fabrication of a composite fuselage for a 2kg class micro-UAV which is propelled by flapping wings. It begins with the comparison and selection of fabrication process. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic was selected for its low speci...
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| Format: | Final Year Project |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49719 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This report describes the design process and fabrication of a composite fuselage for a 2kg
class micro-UAV which is propelled by flapping wings. It begins with the comparison and
selection of fabrication process. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic was selected for its low
specific gravity, high stiffness and high fatigue resistance and the fuselage structure would
be fabricated from prepregs using the vacuum bag and autoclave method.
Features of existing UAVs are determined and the relevant features such as the
modularised design are explained. Following, the expected loads for the 2kg micro-UAV are
determined to be 62.44N during flight and 392.4N at the point of landing. These loads form
part of the design requirements.The initial design concept (Design 1) involves a simple structure to house the flapping wings
and the required payload. A prototype was fabricated for testing so as to set a benchmark
for improvements in further designs. Simulation techniques were introduced to analyse the
designs. After several design evolutions, the final design (Design 2) boasts improvements
such as a mass reduction of 23.2%, better stress distribution, an increased payload volume
of 230cm3 and better accessibility by adopting the modularised design. |
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