Solar UAV : aerodynamic configuration of solar UAV and wind tunnel model studies

• Main Author: Chan, Yi Cheng.
• Other Authors: Yu Ching Man, Simon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Aeronautical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54189
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The Solar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) project was instigated by Defence Science Organisation (DSO) National Laboratories, Singapore, in 2011, to develop a perpetual flying platform for surveillance and other missions. In this 2nd year of the 3-year assignment, Final Year undergraduates will look into improving the efficiencies of UAV system established in the 1st year, as well as fabricate parts of the full scaled prototype Solar UAV. The purpose of this Final Year Project (FYP) is to present the configuration design of the Solar UAV platform and fabricate the required scaled-down model for wind tunnel tests. The configuration of the solar UAV was revised to a simpler and elegant design. The single boom, high T-tail UAV configuration will have a 17.5 m wing span, with an aspect ratio of 15.3. The long wing span and high aspect ratio allows the aircraft to meet aerodynamics requirements, as well as enough wing area to mount solar panels for perpetual flight. The low Reynolds number airfoil SD 7062 was selected for the wing, while NACA 0010 airfoil was selected for the empennage. Each electric motor will be mounted 1.5 m away from the fuselage. The solar UAV prototype will be flying at a target speed of 14 m/s, with a cruise CL of 0.571. Analyses on installed power and total energy consumption for a 24 hours flight mission will provide a better understanding on the requirements of building a solar UAV. There is a significant increasing trend in the energy consumption with increasing aircraft mass, increasing (L/D)max and decreasing flight speed. An explicit 1:9 scale wind tunnel model design was prepared for subsequent aerodynamics studies on the current aircraft configuration. Not only do the model components fit uniquely to one another, the model has an adaptable feature of interchangeable wing brackets of different dihedral angles. Servos will be installed on the wind tunnel model to deflect the control surfaces remotely, to reduce down time of the wind tunnel.