Wanchai Jiajan
Royal Thai Air Force Academy, Thailand
Title: Aerodynamic investigations of low speed tailless mini unmanned aerial vehicle
Biography
Biography: Wanchai Jiajan
Abstract
This paper presents a numerical investigation and wind tunnel testing of the aerodynamic performance of two different low speed tailless mini-UAVs: The standard RTAFA-1 tailless mini-UAV and a new design tailless mini-UAV with stabilizer winglets. Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes was applied to predict aerodynamic performance and longitudinal static stability of two different aircrafts. To confirm the numerical approach, the full-scale of two different tailless mini UAV were modelled to test in high quality flow Royal Thai Air Force Subsonic Research Wind Tunnel (SRWT). The experiments were performed over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re=100,000-500,000). The angle of attack was varied during the test over a range of pitch angles (-5° to +18°). In comparison of the experimental data with the simulation predictions, good agreement was observed for the lift and the pitching moment derivative; while the slightly over prediction of CFD drag results were obvious. The results show that the new design UAV provides significantly higher lift to drag ratio which is desirable to enhance overall aircraft performance, while remaining statically stable over the whole range of operating Reynolds numbers.
