Abstract

The paper investigates the aerodynamic performance and power requirement characteristics of wing sections integrated with high-lift airfoil to support the operation of solar-powered Unmanned Aerial vehicle (UAV). The flight mission is aimed to simulate the operation of solar-powered UAVs under low -speed environment. The research focuses on studying the aerodynamic effect of non-solar UAV wing model and solar UAV wing model for the varying angle of attack. The UAV wing models are tested using a subsonic wind tunnel to validate the aerodynamic characteristics at low-speed condition. The aerodynamic parameters such as coefficient of lift (Cl), coefficient of drag (Cd), coefficient of pressure (Cp), and the total power required to accelerate the solar UAV are studied to maintain steady level flight. The solar UAV and non-solar UAV wing models were subjected to a computational process to examine the pressure and velocity distributions for the aerodynamic performance analysis. Evident results show that the solar cells positioned at the flow separation region of the UAV wing model produces an aerodynamic efficiency rate of 5.45% and required 37.13W of minimum power compared to non-solar UAV at the Reynolds number of 9.8 106.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.