One-way fluid-material interaction study on a plunging UAV wing

Abstract

This research is the one-way interaction study of fluid loading on a plunging NACA-2412 modeled UAV wing. Fluid and Structures are two separate domains combined to study both, and their effects on the Aeroelastic structure. This study consists of experimental and computational analysis of the wing structure and the results were compared for effectiveness. The modeled wing was mounted on a cantilever structural setup by restricted to a single degree of freedom. The experimentation was comprised of the static aeroelastic responses of the wings under the aerodynamic loading produced in the wind tunnel for various Reynolds numbers and different angles of attack (α). After the deflection calculations, the model analysis was done using the ANSYS Workbench solid structural analysis and the results were compared with experimental values. The results of the Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) study of the wing were concluded for all angles of attack for different Reynolds numbers and aerodynamic loading. The rate of change of deflection due to the fluid loading at every α = 100 angles of attack was found to be 30% at the lowest Reynold’s numbers and a hike up to 60% for higher values.