A Long Endurance, Highly Maneuverable, Collaborative, Unmanned Airborne System

Author(s):  
Walter S. King ◽  
D Brian Landrum ◽  
John Alcorn ◽  
Amun Jarzembski
Keyword(s):  
2015 ◽  
Vol 220-221 ◽  
pp. 928-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristjan Tiimus ◽  
Mikk Murumäe ◽  
Eero Väljaots ◽  
Mart Tamre

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used predominately for military applications, despite a growing number of emerging civilian tasks. One of the key tasks for increasing the advantages over a manned aircraft are to extend the flight duration of the UAV. Long endurance flights demand an engine that adapts to variable weather and atmospheric conditions as well as to changes in altitude. Varying demand of the UAV for power is compared to determine the needs for our mid-class test platform. The paper presents a solution to a high-efficiency engine and suggests a test layout for assessing reliability and optimal performance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 1749-1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Cheng ◽  
P. C. Chen ◽  
Y. H. Wu ◽  
F. S. Yeh ◽  
Albert Chin

Author(s):  
R. Hirschkron ◽  
R. H. Davis

Long endurance naval patrol aircraft of the future will require more efficient advanced turboprop powerplants. Engines used in this kind of application will have performance requirements emphasizing prolonged endurance and very low specific fuel consumption for cruise and part-power loiter operation. Regenerative, regenerative/intercooled and advanced conventional cycle screening studies were carried out to select the cycle pressure ratio and turbine temperature for each type, considering the effects on installed performance and weight. Design and cycle choices were studied in each engine category including recuperator types, effectiveness, pressure drop, bypass bleed and variable area turbine nozzle. The engine characteristics of each type were then compared using a representative mission. The advanced conventional engine showed the largest potential, the regenerative second and the regenerative/intercooled the least promise for lower installed fuel consumption and improved mission performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (7) ◽  
pp. 1077-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pericles Panagiotou ◽  
Efstratios Giannakis ◽  
Georgios Savaidis ◽  
Kyros Yakinthos

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the preliminary design of a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), focusing on the interaction between the aerodynamic and the structural design studies. Design/methodology/approach The classic layout theory was used, adjusted for the needs of unmanned aircraft, including aerodynamic calculations, presizing methods and CFD, to estimate key aerodynamic and stability coefficients. Considering the structural aspects, a combination of layout, finite element methods and custom parameterized design tools were used, allowing automatic reshapes of the skin and the internal structural parts, which are mainly made of composite materials. Interaction loops were defined between the aforementioned studies to optimize the performance of the aerial vehicle, maximize the aerodynamic efficiency and reduce the structural weight. Findings The complete design procedure of a UAV is shown, starting from the final stages of conceptual design, up to the point where the detail design and mechanical drawings initiated. Practical implications This paper presents a complete view of a design study of a MALE UAV, which was successfully constructed and flight-tested. Originality/value This study presents a complete, synergetic approach between the configuration layout, aerodynamic and structural aspects of a MALE UAV.


Author(s):  
Prabu Ganesh Ravindren ◽  
Kirti Ghia ◽  
Urmila Ghia

Recent studies of the joined-wing configuration of the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft have been performed by analyzing the aerodynamic and structural behaviors separately. In the present work, a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis is performed, where the fluid pressure on the wing, and the corresponding non-linear structural deformation, are analyzed simultaneously using a finite-element matrix which couples both fluid and structural solution vectors. An unsteady, viscous flow past the high-aspect ratio wing causes it to undergo large deflections, thus changing the domain shape at each time step. The finite element software ANSYS 11.0 is used for the structural analysis and CFX 11.0 is used for the fluid analysis. The structural mesh of the semi-monocoque joined-wing consists of finite elements to model the skin panel, ribs and spars. Appropriate mass and stress distributions are applied across the joined-wing structure [Kaloyanova et al. (2005)], which has been optimized in order to reduce global and local buckling. The fluid region is meshed with very high mesh density at the fluid-structure interface and where flow separation is predicted across the joint of the wing. The FSI module uses a sequentially-coupled finite element equation, where the main coupling matrix utilizes the direction of the normal vector defined for each pair of coincident fluid and structural element faces at the interface [ANSYS 11.0 Documentation]. The k-omega turbulence model captures the fine-scale turbulence effects in the flow. An angle of attack of 12°, at a Mach number of 0.6 [Rangarajan et al. (2003)], is used in the simulation. A 1-way FSI analysis has been performed to verify the proper transfer of loads across the fluid-structure interface. The CFX pressure results on the wing were transferred across the comparatively coarser mesh on the structural surface. A maximum deflection of 16 ft is found at the wing tip with a calculated lift coefficient of 1.35. The results have been compared with the previous study and have proven to be highly accurate. This will be taken as the first step for the 2-way simulation. The effect of a coupled 2-way FSI analysis on the HALE aircraft joined wing configuration will be shown. The structural deformation history will be presented, showing the displacement of the joined-wing, along the wing span over a period of aerodynamic loading. The fluid-structure interface meshing and the convergence at each time step, based on the quantities transferred across the interface will also be discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document