Kriging and Radial Basis Function Models for Optimized Design of UAV Wing Fences to Reduce Rolling Moment

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of the wing fence on the wing tip vortices and control surfaces located at the tip of the wing in a flying wing aircraft have been investigated using a numerical method. For the size of the fences, the average dimensions extracted from the wing tip vortices at different angles of attack are used. The basic determining parameter is the rolling torque coefficient, which is tried to be shown by employing a parametric study of the flow behavior in different situations of fence placement. These effects on the rolling torque of the aircraft are measured due to the presence of the split drag rudder control system. In this study, the fences were installed at three different heights and three different positions along the length of the wing, which were investigated at angles of attack of 7 to 16 degrees. The next stage of the research is to design the dimensions of the fence using the single-objective optimization method (a method to find the best solution for a problem with a specific goal). The designing of the fences at three points based on the dimensions of the wing tip vortex is carried out with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method (CFD is a computational method that uses physical laws to predict the behavior of fluids.). The aim of this research is to achieve the best design that converges to an optimal solution with minimum time and cost (CFD solution is long). However, CFD analysis requires a lot of computational time. To address this challenge, we employed a hybrid learning model comprising the radial basis function (RBF), a type of artificial neural network, and Kriging, a Gaussian process-based interpolation technique. The dataset for training the hybrid model was obtained from numerical solutions of CFD simulations involving a fence placed at various locations on the wing. Additionally, a genetic algorithm was employed as the optimization method in all instances where it was required. Using the power of machine learning techniques helped us identify the optimal placement of the fence to prevent it from being engulfed by the vortex and to optimize the utilization of the split drag system, yielding significant improvements.