Improved Component Buildup Method for Fast Prediction of the Aerodynamic Performances of a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Micro Air Vehicle

Abstract

An innovative and efficient method for fast prediction of the aerodynamic performances of a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Micro Air Vehicle (VTOL MAV) during the conceptual design phase is presented in this paper. Characterized by low aspect ratio lifting surfaces and low Reynolds number regime flight, typical MAVs generate complex flow phenomena that cannot be accurately accounted using conventional-aircraft design tools. This complexity of the flow motivates the necessity of using advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools, even in the conceptual design stage. However, full CFD simulations for predicting the aerodynamic performances of various MAV configurations created during the design stage are not realistic due to time and computational cost constraints. This paper proposes an innovative solution which based on the Component Buildup Method (CBM) to predict the full vehicle aerodynamic performances. In order to include the aerodynamic interferences while still maintaining a low computational cost, an improved CBM (I-CBM) was developed to predict the VTOL MAV aerodynamic performances at various configurations.