Aerodynamic And Structural Design And Analysis Of A VTOL UAV

Vertical take-off and landing(VTOL)UAVs have been widely used in civil and military applications in recent years.The hybrid configuration UAV combines the characteristics of VTOL and high-speed forward flight of a helicopter and fixed-wing UAV,and its complex flight mode brings a great aerodynamic effect to the UAV.Based on the shortcomings of the tilt-powered UAV,this paper proposes a new configuration of e VTOL UAV,which embeds the rotor into the blended wing body layout fuselage to achieve a new VTOL method.In this study,an electric UAV with a hybrid configuration uses just one set of power systems to achieve hovering,takeoff,landing,transition,and forward flight.This streamlines the power and control systems,lowers weight loss and aerodynamic drag,and increases the effectiveness of cruise and VTOL flight.Firstly,according to the flight mission and hybrid configuration electric UAV design requirements,the main parameters of the total mass,geometry and propulsion of the UAV are estimated by empirical method and comprehensive analysis method.Then,based on the Navier-Stokes equations,a numerical method of the combined flow field of the rotor and the airframe is formulated,and the steady numerical simulation of the closed airframe and the airframe with rotor in forward flight status are carried out and the validity of the CFD method is verified.Then,the effects of the rotor at different positions on the aerodynamic feature are discussed,with flow field details comparison.Finally,the impact of composite materials on the airframe’s primary structure is examined in light of the findings of the analysis of aerodynamic properties.The calculations’ findings indicate that the drag of the UAV with a propeller configuration obviously increases and the lift obviously reduces within a particular range of angle of attack.The lift-to-drag ratio and longitudinal static stability of the hybrid configuration UAV can both be altered by adjusting the rotor position.The findings demonstrate that the hybrid configuration UAV’s aerodynamic properties are significantly impacted by the rotor position.Better lift and drag characteristics can be ensured as well as improved longitudinal static stability with a reasonable rotor position arrangement.The structural weight and strength of UAVs can be effectively increased by making a sensible selection of material.In this study,the airframe structure design and composite material analysis are presented along with a calculation and analysis of various rotor position effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of the hybrid configuration UAV in the forward flight state.This work serves as a theoretical foundation for the design and subsequent control research of the VTOL UAV.