Design and fabrication of a fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Design, Construction, and Flight Performance of an Electrically Operated Fixed-Wing UAV

“…The first term of Equation (10) indicates that drag D (or thrust T) increases with the square of the airspeed V. This term is related to the parasite drag of the UAV, which increases with the increase in the dynamic pressure 1/2ϱV 2 . On the other hand, the second term of Equation (10) represents the induced drag of the UAV, which decreases as the speed V increases. This term also includes the effect of the C L on the drag D. The higher the speed V of the UAV is, the lower the value of C L .…”

“…In general, by reducing the speed V of the UAV during the cruising phase, C L must be increased so that the lift L equals the weight W of the UAV. Therefore, with the decrease in the airspeed V, the second term of Equation (10) increases exponentially. On the other hand, by increasing the airspeed V, the C L will decrease, so in this way, both terms of Equation (10) benefit, with the only conclusion being that the increase in the flight speed V and the choice of a relatively small angle of attack (small C L ) will bring autonomy advantages as the total drag D will be reduced.…”

“…According to Equation ( 2), all the information such as the selected wing loading, the cruise flight height (or equivalent the density ϱ), and the wing airfoil aerodynamic characteristics is known, and the only factors that will change over time is the aspect ratio AR and the Oswald coefficient e, as it depends on the AR value. Initially, three typical AR values (8,10,12) are chosen. AR selection is examined in terms of the minimum drag velocity V md and minimum power velocity V mp .…”

“…AR selection is examined in terms of the minimum drag velocity V md and minimum power velocity V mp . In case the mean value of V md and V mp for the aforementioned AR values (8,10,12) is out of the original specifications (see Section 2.1), the next step will be to set up modifications on the wing loading or the wing airfoil aerodynamic characteristics.…”

“…Additionally, high-energy-density systems within UAVs, with lower weights and better performance under the same flight conditions, are a research challenge [9]. Adawy et al [10] presented a robust design procedure for the designing, manufacturing, and testing of an electrically powered UAV for carrying the highest payload possible, whereas Sarvesh et al [11] proposed a holistic approach for designing, prototyping, and testing an electric-powered fixed-wing hybrid VTOL UAV. Moreover, the weight strongly influences the UAVs energy consumption, and thus, it makes the design of the battery a challenging process, as it aims to satisfy the UAV's required range and endurance [12].…”