scholarly journals Identification of Fixed-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle Aerodynamic Derivatives from Dynamic Water Tunnel Tests

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Sibilski ◽  
Mirosław Nowakowski ◽  
Dariusz Rykaczewski ◽  
Paweł Szczepaniak ◽  
Andrzej Żyluk ◽  
...  

A micro air vehicle (MAV) is a class of miniature unmanned aerial vehicles that has a size restriction and may be autonomous. Fixed-wing MAVs are very attractive for outdoor surveillance missions since they generally offer better payload and endurance capabilities than rotorcraft or flapping-wing vehicles of equal size. This research paper describes the methodology applying indicial function theory and artificial neural networks for identification of aerodynamic derivatives for fixed-wing MAV. The formulation herein proposed extends well- known aerodynamic theories, which are limited to thin aerofoils in incompressible flow, to strake wing planforms. Using results from dynamic water tunnel tests and indicial functions approach allowed to identify MAV aerodynamic derivatives. The experiments were conducted in a water tunnel in the course of dynamic tests of periodic oscillatory motion. The tests program range was set at high angles of attack and a wide scope of reduced frequencies of angular movements. Due to a built-in propeller, the model’s structure test program was repeated for a turned-on propelled drive system. As a result of these studies, unsteady aerodynamics characteristics and aerodynamic derivatives of the micro-aircraft were identified as functions of state parameters. At the Warsaw University of Technology and the Air Force Institute of Technology, a “Bee” fixed wings micro aerial vehicle with an innovative strake-wing outline and a propeller placed in the wing gap was worked. This article is devoted to the problems of identification of aerodynamic derivatives of this micro-aircraft. The result of this research was the identification of the aerodynamic derivatives of the fixed wing MAV “Bee” as non-linear functions of the angle of attack, and reduced frequency. The identification was carried out using the indicial function approach.

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Joo ◽  
Gregory Reich ◽  
James Elgersma ◽  
Kristopher Aber

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (10) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
Kae Doki ◽  
Yuki Funabora ◽  
Shinji Doki

Every day we are seeing an increasing number of robots being employed in our day-to-day lives. They are working in factories, cleaning our houses and may soon be chauffeuring us around in vehicles. The affordability of drones too has come down and now it is conceivable for most anyone to own a sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While fun to fly, these devices also represent powerful new tools for several industries. Anytime an aerial view is needed for a planning, surveillance or surveying, for example, a UAV can be deployed. Further still, equipping these vehicles with an array of sensors, for climate research or mapping, increases their capability even more. This gives companies, governments or researchers a cheap and safe way to collect vast amounts of data and complete tasks in remote or dangerous areas that were once impossible to reach. One area UAVs are proving to be particularly useful is infrastructure inspection. In countries all over the world large scale infrastructure projects like dams and bridges are ageing and in need of upkeep. Identifying which ones and exactly where they are in need of patching is a huge undertaking. Not only can this work be dangerous, requiring trained inspectors to climb these megaprojects, it is incredibly time consuming and costly. Enter the UAVs. With a fleet of specially equipped UAVs and a small team piloting them and interpreting the data they bring back the speed and safety of this work increases exponentially. The promise of UAVs to overturn the infrastructure inspection process is enticing, but there remain several obstacles to overcome. One is achieving the fine level of control and positioning required to navigate the robots around 3D structures for inspection. One can imagine that piloting a small UAV underneath a huge highway bridge without missing a single small crack is quite difficult, especially when the operators are safely on the ground hundreds of meters away. To do this knowing exactly where the vehicle is in space becomes a critical variable. The job can be made even easier if a flight plan based on set waypoints can be pre-programmed and followed autonomously by the UAV. It is exactly this problem that Dr Kae Doki from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Aichi Institute of Technology, and collaborators are focused on solving.


Author(s):  
Jinwoo Jeon ◽  
Sungwook Jung ◽  
Eungchang Lee ◽  
Duckyu Choi ◽  
Hyun Myung

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Solis ◽  
Christoffer Karlsson ◽  
Simon Johansson ◽  
Kristoffer Richardsson

This research aims to develop an automatic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based indoor environmental monitoring system for the acquisition of data at a very fine scale to detect rapid changes in environmental features of plants growing in greenhouses. Due to the complexity of the proposed research, in this paper we proposed an off-board distributed control system based on visual input for a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) able to hover, navigate, and fly to a desired target location without considerably affecting the effective flight time. Based on the experimental results, the MAV was able to land on the desired location within a radius of about 10 cm from the center point of the landing pad, with a reduction in the effective flight time of about 28%.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5772
Author(s):  
Dawid Lis ◽  
Adam Januszko ◽  
Tadeusz Dobrocinski

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss the results of a non-standard unnamed aerial vehicle construction with a constant cross-section square-shaped avionic profile. Based on the model’s in-air observed maneuverability, the research of avionic construction behavior was carried out in a water tunnel. The results show the model’s specific lift capabilities in comparison to classical avionic constructions. The characteristic results of the lift coefficient showed that the unmanned aerial vehicle presents favorable features than classic avionic constructions. The model was created with the prospect of using it in the future for dual-use purposes, where unmanned aerial vehicles are currently experiencing very rapid development. When creating the prototype, the focus was on low production cost, as well as convenience in operation. The development of this type of breakthrough avionic solution, which shows extraordinary maneuverability, may contribute to increasing the popularity and, above all, the availability of unmanned aerial vehicles for the largest possible group of recipients because of high avionic properties in relation to the technical construction complexity.


Author(s):  
Jianxun Du ◽  
Peng Hao ◽  
Mabao Liu ◽  
Rui Xue ◽  
Lin’an Li

Because of the advantages of light weight, small size, and good maneuverability, the bio-inspired micro aerial vehicle has a wide range of application prospects and development potential in military and civil areas, and has become one of the research hotspots in the future aviation field. The beetle’s elytra possess high strength and provide the protection of the abdomen while being functional to guarantee its flight performance. In this study, the internal microstructure of beetle’s elytra was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a variety of bionic thin-walled structures were proposed and modelled. The energy absorption characteristics and protective performance of different configurations of thin-walled structures with hollow columns under impact loading was analyzed by finite element method. The parameter study was carried out to show the influence of the velocity of impactor, the impact angle of the impactor and the wall thickness of honeycomb structure. This study provides an important inspiration for the design of the protective structure of the micro aerial vehicle.


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