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FLIGHT VEHICLE DESIGN:

EXAMPLE 2 (UAV)

▣
S.N.OMKAR

PROBLEM:

▣ Design and performance analysis of a mini UAV for high

endurance applications-surveillance
The proposed mini UAV is expected to perform role of
real time Surveillance and Reconnaissance, detection of
enemy movement, target detection, recognition,
identification, and acquisitions, post strike damage
assessment. It shall carry payloads (day and night
camera as per mission), be able to hand launch/bungee
assisted launch and be portable to be packed in case
for carrying on back by soldiers.

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QUALITATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR MEETING THE

ABOVE MISSION

▣ Weight: AV+ MPGCS+ Bagpacks + launch and recovery

systems+ Optical sensors + Miscellaneous = 35 Kg max.
▣ Launch and recovery area: 50x50 m
▣ All weather with OAT from -15 deg C to +50 deg C
▣ Range: 15 km
▣ T/O and Land against head winds: upto 20 kmph
▣ Minimum speed = 25 knots: Maximum speed: 50 knots
▣ Desired Endurance of 180 minutes, with loiter time of 60
minutes (min)

MISSION PROFILE:

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V-n DIAGRAM:

WEIGHT ESTIMATION:

▣ The weight of the individual components of the UAV was estimated

for calculating the maximum take-off weight. The weight of LRUs
were given, the structural weight of each component like wing, tail,
fuselage etc. was calculated based on data of the contemporary
UAVs which belong to this class and were successfully tested. The
structural weight of each component is as given below

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WEIGHT ESTIMATION:

▣ The overall weight of the UAV is estimated to be (2.45+5.47= 7.92)

say 8 kg. This is the maximum take-off weight and has been used in
throughout the analysis.

AIRFOIL SELECTION:
▣ Different aerofoil were considered for study and an optimum
aerofoil was chosen. The University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
aerofoil database was used for selecting number of aerofoil, the
website also gives the co-ordinate files and aerodynamic data.
▣ Initial study of the aerofoil was done based on the historical data of
small UAVs. It was seen that most of the UAVs had slightly cambered
aerofoil so that payload carrying capacity is high. Few UAVs had very
high cambered aerofoil which was mission specific.
▣ XFLR5 was used extensively in the design phase, which includes the
aerodynamic study of aerofoils. The aerofoils considered were as
follows
▣ a. CLARK-Y , b. Eppler 420, c. FX 63-137, d. Cr001sm,
e. AQUILA 9.3%, f. S7075

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LISTED AIRFOIL GEOMETRY:

LISTED AIRFOIL GEOMETRY:

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LISTED AIRFOIL GEOMETRY:

STUDY OF AEROFOILS AND ITS RANKING BASED ON

THE PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS:

▣ Aerodynamic analysis of the aerofoil considered for

Reynolds number 3,00,000
▣ All the above mentioned aerofoils were imported into
XFLR5 and the analysis was performed for a Reynolds
number 3,00,000 to study the Aerodynamic
characteristics like Cl v/s Alpha, Cm v/s Alpha, Cl/Cd v/s
Alpha.
▣ Ranking for each aerofoil was given based on
performance parameters.

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CL v/s Alpha graph for different aerofoils :

▣ Aerofoil Ranking for Cl v/s Alpha

1. Eppler 420
2. FX 63-137
3. CR001sm

CL v/s CD FOR DIFFERENT AEROFOIL

▣ Ranking for Cl v/s Cd

1. Eppler 420
2. FX 63-137
3. S7075

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CL/CD v/s Alpha FOR DIFFERENT AEROFOIL:

▣ Rankings for Cl/Cd v/s Alpha

1. FX 63-137
2. CR001sm
3. S7075

CM v/s Alpha FOR DIFFERENT AEROFOIL:

▣ Rankings for Cm v/s Alpha

1. Eppler 420
2. FX 63-137
3. CR001sm

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COMPARISON BETWEEN AEROFOILS

FX 63-137, CR001sm, NACA 2410

▣ Results from the above step indicate that Aerofoils FX 63-

137, CR001sm, Eppler 420 take the top spot based on
different Aerodynamic analysis.
▣ An optimum aerofoil has to be chosen which meet the
user requirements.
▣ This step includes analysis for NACA 2410, Eppler 420
was ruled out because of its complex profile and
difficulties in manufacturing.
▣ NACA 2410 is extensively used in various aircraft and
UAVs. XFOIL analysis was carried out and the ranking for
aerofoil was given.

CL v/s Alpha FOR THE AEROFOIL:

▣ Ranking for Aerofoil based on Cl v/s Alpha

1. FX 63-137
2. CR001sm
3. NACA 2410

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CL v/s CD FOR THE AEROFOIL :

▣ Ranking for Aerofoil based on Cl v/s Cd

1. FX 63-137
2. CR001sm
3. NACA 2410

CL/CD VERSUS Alpha FOR AEROFOIL

▣ Ranking based on Cl/Cd v/s Alpha

1. FX 63-137
2. CR001sm
3. NACA 2410

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Cont…
▣ From the graphs, it is seen that FX 63-137 and CR001sm have
Aerodynamic characteristics better than any other aerofoil
considered.
▣ FX 63-137 is highly cambered aerofoil and is used in case of missions
which have high payload carrying capacity as a requirement.
▣ Also, FX 63-1137 may give rise to high profile drag looking at the
aerofoil’s curvature, so CR001sm was chosen as the best aerofoil
which meets all the user requirements.
▣ However, some modifications to the aerofoil was needed like
increasing the thickness of the aerofoil to accommodate the servo
motors and other components in the wing.
▣ The effect of increasing and decreasing the thickness on the
aerodynamics was studied, XFLR5 analysis was carried out for
CR001sm with an increase in the thickness from 7% to 9%

CL v/s Alpha FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF

CR_001sm

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CL v/s CD FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF

CR_001sm

CL/CD versus Alpha FOR DIFFERENT VERSIONS

of CR_001sm

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Cm versus Alpha FOR AEROFOILS CR_001sm

and CR_001sm_MODIFIED

RESULT:

▣ From the graphs, we see that Cr001sm_Modified has better

aerodynamic characteristics like Cl v/s Alpha, Cl v/s Cd
when compared to Cr001sm.
▣ From the above analysis it was proved that, increase in the
thickness of aerofoil will increase the Co-efficient of lift.
▣ Hence the optimum aerofoil chosen was
Cr001sm_Modified (9% thick)

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PLANFORM AND GEOMETRY SELECTION :

▣ Planform and Geometry selection is a part of wing

design.
▣ Before starting off with the wing design, the effect of
several geometrical parameters on aerodynamics of wing
were studied, including effects of taper, twist, dihedral,
tip curvature on the aerodynamic performance of wing.

EFFECT OF SWEEP:
▣ Sweep is generally used in aircraft which operate close to
Mach 1 and above to reduce the shock effects and drag
by shock wave.
▣ Additionally sometimes sweep is given to aircraft which
operate at low Reynolds number to shift the centre of
gravity.
▣ There is a decrease in surface area of the wing when
there is sweep which means lift is lost.
▣ So it was decided not to have sweep since centre of
gravity can be shifted by other methods, more
importantly it is advisable to have high surface area to
have more lift.

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EFFECT OF DIHEDRAL:

▣ Dihedral provides roll stability to the aircraft. Generally,

the dihedral for UAVs is around 3 to 5 degrees.
▣ Higher the dihedral angle higher is the roll stability, if the
stability is too high then the aircraft will not have
manoeuvring attitude, hence it becomes difficult to yaw
or roll the aircraft which means surface area of ailerons
has to be large.
▣ It is proposed to have dihedral of 5 degrees.

EFFECT OF HIGH WING:

▣ A high wing has been chosen for following reasons:
(i) Increases the dihedral effect . Make the aircraft laterally more stable
due to higher contribution of the fuselage to the wing dihedral effect .
(ii) Wing will produce more lift compared to mid and low wing since two
parts of the wing are attached at least on the top part.
(iii) For the same reason at (ii), the aircraft will have lower stall speed since
(CLmax) will be higher.
(iv) Safety of operator launching the UAV is increased due to increased
separation of propeller axis and fuselage.
(v) The shape of the fuselage can be made more aerodynamically
smoother.
(vi) One of the the disadvantage is having weaker lateral control as
compared to mid and low wing since the aircraft has more lateral
dynamic stability; however this can be compensated by having sufficient
tail arm and vertical fin area.

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WING-TIP CURVATURE AND WING PLANFORM:

▣ The induced drag is mainly dependent on the wing tip

curvature.
▣ Vortex is created at the tips if they are sharp. Hence to avoid
the wing-tip vortices which result in induced drag, the wing-
tips are made elliptical.
▣ Other alternative is to go for end-plated/winglets which
reduce the vortices at tips. Designing a winglet is a tedious
task which needs experimental study and computational
analysis.
▣ Rectangular planform is preferred for the initial design since it
is easy to fabricate and has higher planform area when
compared to tapered wings.

WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

▣ Wing design was done based on all the available data

from XFLR5.
▣ Initially the area was estimated, span and chord was
obtained from the user defined constraints.
▣ From the discussions it was decided to have span as 3
meters taking into account of portability issues.
▣ The cruise velocity was assumed to be 15 m/s (based on
designs of previous UAVs of similar weight and mission
requirements)

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WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

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WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

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WING SIZING AND DESIGN:

WING SIZING AND DESIGN; RESULTS:

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FUSELAGE DESIGN:

▣ Fuselage is proposed to be all composite body which

houses payloads, autopilot, batteries etc. Fuselage will
also provide mounting for motor in tractor configuration.
▣ Based on the dimensions of LRUs, the diameter of
fuselage was taken to be 0.2 m (keeping 30-35%
allowance for accommodating LRU/Battery whose values
are tentative) the diameter was reduced to 0.15m the
later stages of design.
▣ Calculations are done with respect to fuselage diameter
of 0.2m keeping a margin for accounting uncertainty of
LRUs.

EMPENNAGE DESIGN:

▣ The tail aerofoil was chosen to be NACA 0012, which is a

symmetrical aerofoil. The aerofoil was analyzed in XFLR5.

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OPTIMUM TAIL ARM LENGTH (Lopt)

▣ A brief survey was done for

different class of UAVs, it was found
that the horizontal tail volume ratio
Vht is of the range 0.4 to 0.6, so Vht
was chosen to be 0.6 for calculating
the optimum tail arm length.
▣ To find the horizontal tail volume
ratio we have the static stability
equation

Cont…

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HORIZONTAL TAIL DESIGN:

HORIZONTAL TAIL DESIGN:

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HORIZONTAL TAIL DESIGN:

VERTICAL TAIL DESIGN:

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VERTICAL TAIL DESIGN:

EMPENNAGE POSITION WITH RESPECT TO

WING :
▣ The wing influences the horizontal tail via downwash,
wake and tailing vortices.
▣ In general, wing downwash decreases the tail effective
angle of attack.
▣ Moreover, the wing wake degrades the tail efficiency,
reduces the tail efficiency (ht), and decreases the tail
dynamic pressure.
▣ Most important considerations about the location of the
horizontal tail relative to the wing are prevention of deep
stall .
▣ The horizontal tail location must not be in the wing wake
region when wing stall happens.

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EMPENNAGE POSITION WITH RESPECT TO

WING :
▣ The decision about the vertical height of the horizontal tail must be
made after a thorough analysis, since a variety of parameters
including wing airfoil, tail airfoil, wing-fuselage aerodynamic pitching
moment, and tail arm plus manufacturing considerations are
contributing.
▣ The following experimental equations are recommended for the
initial approximation of the horizontal tail vertical height.

▣ Where l is tail arm length, iw is the wing inclination with respect to

fuselage, αs is the wing stall angle and ht is the vertical height of tail
with respect to the quarter chord of the wing.
▣ By calculating the height it was found that the tail or wing must be
positioned 0.255 meters in the vertical with respect to each other.

EMPENNAGE POSITION WITH RESPECT TO

WING :

▣ The figure below shows the effect of wing downwash on empennage

for various tail configurations. It is recommended to have the tail in
the region ‘1’ as shown in the figure where the tail is out of the
downwash and wake of wing, present NMG has low tail-high wing
design hence out of wake.

Downwash and wake by wing and its

influence on tail position

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SUMMARY OF TAIL DESIGN:

▣ The empennage was designed using the conventional techniques. Different tail
parameters were found using the empirical relations; Tail aerofoil was chosen to
be NACA 0012 common for both Horizontal tail and Vertical tail. The parameters
and respective dimensions are listed below.
▣ The initial dimensions of tail were found assuming the geometries to be tapered
rectangle. Later the edges were curved and tweaked in order to make the fins
more aerodynamic and aesthetically good, which resulted in the slight
modifications to the root chords and tip chords in order to keep the same area.
▣ The vertical position of the wing with respect to tail was found to be 0.255m to
avoid the wing downwash and tail stall. The initial NMG had empennage above
the wing, after iterations and discussions with ARDC it was decided to have the
empennage below the wing for giving the same effect and also meet the
portability issues. The current version has better portability than the previous
one since the empennage boom is attached to the fuselage and is easily
replaceable.

RESULTS:

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CENTRE OF GRAVITY (CG) ESTIMATION:

▣ Estimation of centre of gravity is a very important factor in aircraft
design, as it gives the exact position where the components are to
be placed so that the vehicle is statically stable.

CENTRE OF GRAVITY (CG) ESTIMATION:

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STABILITY ANALYSIS OF UAV USING XFLR5

▣ The static stability analysis was done for the UAV using
XFLR5.
▣ A virtual model of aircraft was created in the software
and analysis was performed to get the pitching moment
(CM) of the entire aircraft comprising of wing and tail
with respect to Angle of Attack.
▣ The aircraft is said to be stable when the slope of CM v/s
alpha graph is negative.

STABILITY ANALYSIS OF UAV USING XFLR5

▣ The analysis was performed for the CG position of 90 mm(32% of

MAC), velocity was given as 18 m/s (operating velocity) the variation
in the pitching moment versus angle of attack was observed, the
curve was found to have a negative slope as assumed before.

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STABILITY ANALYSIS OF UAV USING XFLR5

▣ This proves that the aircraft designed is stable and the

slope of the curve is negative, it is always advisable to
have the Centre of Gravity position to be forward.
▣ It is seen that the value of Cm at trim angle is close to
zero, which is not critical.
▣ UAV’s of similar class have negative trim angle and value
of Cm is zero.
▣ When it comes to design of commercial aircraft this is an
important issue, however for UAV class of aircrafts this
will not be a matter of concern

STABILITY ANALYSIS OF UAV FOR DIFFERENT POSITIONS

OF CENTRE OF GRAVITY (CG)
▣ Stability analysis of UAV for different
positions of CG was carried out to see the
behaviour of pitching moment with
respect to the angle of attack for the
defined static margin, this analysis is also
called as the static margin analysis. The
analysis was carried out using XFLR5 for a
fixed velocity. The Centre of Gravity
position was changed with reference to
the defined static margin and the
behaviour was observed.
▣ It is seen that the trim angle for different
positions of CG keeps changing, Hence,
there is a requirement to have a small trim
angle for elevator to have a levelled flight.

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DESIGN OF CONTROL SURFACE:

▣ From the discussions it was proposed to have Ailerons

for the additional roll stability, if the UAV encounters
cross-winds or gusts then the ailerons will help in
recovering from the gust.
▣ Elevator and rudder has also been incorporated into the
design, empirical relations were used to design the
control surfaces

AILERON DESIGN:

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AILERON DESIGN:

AILERON DESIGN:

▣ From the discussion with professional aero modelers it was decided to increase the
area by around 25% more than the obtained area which includes some allowance and
factor of safety. The Aileron design data is shown in the table below

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ELEVATOR AREA ESTIMATION:

RUDDER DESIGN:

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UAV PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS:

▣ The performance calculations and analysis gives the

designer an insight whether the design meets the user
requirement.
▣ After a number of design iterations based on user
requirements, CAD model was generated for the design
to collect the important geometric data which is to be
used for performance calculations.
▣ The performance calculations include Drag estimation,
Motor Selection, Power calculations for flight phase,
Endurance calculations and others.

DRAG ESTIMATION: (FUSELAGE)

▣ Component build-up method was used for drag estimation; empirical relations given
in Raymer were used to estimate the overall drag. The geometric data of each
component was taken from the CAD model.

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DRAG ESTIMATION:(PYLON)

▣ Pylon is a smooth external surface for storage and

attachment. Since an aerofoil shape is used for pylon
drag offered is very less. It has been computed as shown
below

DRAG ESTIMATION:(WING)
▣ Form factor was found by considering the maximum thickness to chord ratio, the
location along the chord along which this maximum thickness occurs and the Mach
number.

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DRAG ESTIMATION:(WING)

DRAG ESTIMATION:(HORIZONTAL TAIL )

▣ The drag offered by horizontal tail is calculated on the similar lines

as done in wing drag estimation. The aerofoil used is NACA 0012

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DRAG ESTIMATION:(VERTICAL TAIL )

TOTAL DRAG OFFERED:

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MOTOR SELECTION:

▣ The motor is the integral part of the UAV, since it provides necessary thrust for
the vehicle to propel forward. It was decided to use brushless DC motor for the
UAV since brushless DC motor has lot of advantages over conventional DC
motors one major advantage being lesser vibrations.
▣ In a levelled flight, the thrust is equal to the drag and Lift is equal to the weight.
For the vehicle to propel forward the thrust should be greater than drag which
means the body has to generate more thrust to overcome the drag.
▣ One major purpose of drag estimation is to select an appropriate motor, from
the drag estimation, the drag offered by the major elements is found to be
around 1.45 kg and taking into account of drag offered by miscellaneous
elements like tail boom, structural arrangements, pylon etc. an addition of 0.55
kg for drag is given as allowance/factor if safety which implies that the total drag
offered by the UAV is around 2.0 kg

MOTOR SELECTION:

▣ The motor selected should have the thrust rating higher than 2.0 kg, a
sufficient factor of safety of 0.5 kg was taken in order to include the
unaccounted drag. The thrust produced also depends on the diameter of
propeller used.

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POWER CALCULATIONS:

▣ The power required in each phase of flight has been

calculated.
▣ The critical Reynolds number differs for different
aerofoils, Since this is a modified aerofoil the exact value
is difficult to calculate.
▣ Experimental methods are recommended to calculate
the value

POWER CALCULATIONS:(TAKE-OFF)

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POWER CALCULATIONS:(CLIMB PHASE )

▣ From the mission requirements and literature survey for these class of mini
UAVs, it was decided to have a rate of climb of 3 to 4 m/s and to minimize
the penalty of power requirements which is high in this phase since the
body is travelling against the gravitational force.

POWER CALCULATIONS:(CRUISE PHASE )

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SUMMARY OF POWER CONSUMPTION:

▣ The above table gives power required by motor for above phases of flight.
The total energy / power requirements will depend on the time spent in
each phase which is a part of mission strategy by the user. This will enable in
proper selection of motor power and battery capacity

ENDURANCE CALCULATIONS:
▣ The endurance of the UAV depends mainly on the Energy density of the
battery and the endurance factor of the aerofoil. The energy density is
assumed to be 150 Wh/kg which is the highest available in the market. The
(CL)3/2 / CD for the aerofoil is found to be 22
▣ From the LRU data given, the mass of battery is 25% that of the mass of
aircraft. Equations for calculating the endurance for electric powered
aircraft have been developed by Wagner et al.

▣ Where,
E is Energy density, ηm and ηp are the efficiency of motor and propeller, ma
is aircraft weight, Sw is the area of wing, t is the endurance of the aircraft,
Maximum efficiencies of propeller and motor as taken from RC Groups and
Aero modellers

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ENDURANCE CALCULATIONS:

▣ The value of CD here is the overall drag of the aircraft, the XFLR analysis is
limited only to the analysis of wing-tail configuration. Hence the values
obtained may not be suitable for estimating endurance of the aircraft,
however the drag considered here is using the component build-up method.
For exact analysis CFD techniques are recommended

ENDURANCE CALCULATIONS:

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ENDURANCE CALCULATIONS:

ISOMETRIC VIEW OF THE UAV AS VIEWED

FROM NOSE

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