A vertical take-off and landing plane (VTOL plane) is a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (FWUAV) configuration with the ability to take off and land vertically. It combines the benefits of fixed-wing and multirotor configurations, which gives it a high cruising range and independence from a runway. This configuration requires arms as mountings for the VTOL’s motors. This study discusses the design of a VTOL Plane with various VTOL arm configurations, and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted to find out which configuration performs the best aerodynamically. The VTOL arm configurations analyzed were a quad-plane, a twin-tail boom, a tandem wing, and a transverse arm. The interpreted performances were the lift and drag performances, stall conditions, flight efficiency, stability, and maneuverability. The relative wind directions toward the longitudinal axis of the UAV, which are the sideslip angle and the angle of attack, were varied to simulate various flying conditions. The results showed that the twin tail-boom is the most advantageous based on the interpreted performances.
A Vertical Take-Off and Landing-Plane (VTOL-Plane) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that combines multirotor and fixed-wing configurations. It has a good cruise range compared to a VTOL vehicle. Furthermore, it can take-off and land vertically. This technology is ideal for surveillance/monitoring missions and transmitting data in real-time. This study discusses the design of a VTOL-Plane with a preset Design Requirement Objectives (DRO), namely a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 14 kg, a cruise speed of 23 m/s, and a cruising range of 6 h. To maximize the performance, the empennage configurations on the VTOL-Plane varied, and then a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation was carried out. The empennage configurations analyzed were a U-shaped boom, an inverted U-shaped boom, an inverted V-tail boom, and a semi-inverted V-tail boom. The interpreted performance related to the stalling angle, flight efficiency, stability, stall speed, and maneuverability. The relative wind directions toward the longitudinal axis of the UAV, also called the sideslip angle, were varied. The CFD simulation results showed that the empennage configuration of the inverted U-shaped boom is suitable for a surveillance mission. This article also optimized the final empennage design by adding a vertical fin to improve stability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.