Aerodynamic Studies of Small Box-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Using CFD

Abstract

This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation study of a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with airfoil s3010 and 245 mm chord length at a cruising speed of 17.5 m/s, compared with the aerodynamic characteristics of a 3D conventional fixed-wing UAV from a commercial RC airplane modified with a box-wing configuration. Simulation results showed that at an angle of attack of 0°, the lift coefficient increased by 60.005%, drag coefficient increased by 58.3299% and L/D ratio increased 1.0578%. The box-wing UAV had higher lift-to-drag ratio than the fixed-wing UAV. However, weight increased by 46.5%. The fuselage shape of the box-wing UAV in this study can be redesigned to shorten the rear area for drag and weight reduction.