Abstract
A Micro air vehicle (MAV) is defined as class of unmanned air vehicle (UAV) having a linear dimension of less than 15 centimeters and a mass of less than 100 grams with flight speeds of 6 to 12 meters per second. MAVs fall within a Reynolds number (Re) range of 50,000 and 120,000, in which many causes of unsteady aerodynamic effects are not fully understood. The research field of low Reynolds number aerodynamics is currently an active one, with many defence organizations, universities, and corporations working towards a better understanding of the physical processes of this aerodynamic regime. In the present work, it is proposed to study the unsteady aerodynamic analysis of 2D airfoil using CFD software and Xfoil panel code method. The various steps involved in this work are geometric modelling using CATIA V5R17, meshing using ICEM CFD, and solution and postprocessing through FLUENT. The finite control volume analysis and Xfoil panel code method has been carried out to predict aerodynamic characteristics such as lift coefficients, drag coefficients, moment coefficients, pressure coefficients, and flow visualization. The lift and drag coefficients were compared for all the simulations with experimental results. It was observed that for the 2D airfoil, lift and drag both compared well for the midrange angle of attack from −10 to 15 degree AOA.
Highlights
Micro air vehicles (MAVs) have attracted significant attention since mid-1990 for both civilian and military applications
MAVs are by definition small aircrafts which fly at relatively low speeds
The purpose of choosing this specific airfoil is low Reynolds number (Re) which gives better aerodynamic characteristic performance as compared to the other airfoils and it is the one of the best airfoils which is used in design of micro aerial vehicle [4]
Summary
Micro air vehicles (MAVs) have attracted significant attention since mid-1990 for both civilian and military applications. MAVs are by definition small aircrafts which fly at relatively low speeds Such flight characteristics will result in flow regimes with Reynolds numbers. Another aerodynamic signature of MAV is wings with small aspect ratio; in most cases the chord is roughly equal to the wingspan. Key research challenges include unsteady aerodynamics at low Reynolds number, low aspect ratio wings, stability and control issues associated with low weight, small moments of inertia, miniaturization, cooperative control, and micro sensors. Among these areas unsteady aerodynamics is an important area of research. Laminar separation bubbles are common and unless properly stabilized can lead to excessive drag and low maximum lift [3]
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