Design of a Hand-Launched Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System for Plateau

Zhao, Xin; Zhou, Zhou; Zhu, Xiaoping; Guo, An

doi:10.3390/app10041300

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…When operating in rotor mode, equation (4) shows the constraints relationships between W/S and P/W ratios for the vertical ascent, hovering, and the vertical descent based on the momentum theory. 38…”

Section: Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the rapid advancement of technology of solar cell conversion efficiency and energy storage battery in recent years, low-altitude small solar-powered UAVs have attracted worldwide attention for their long-endurance capability of applications such as environmental monitoring, 1 geographical mapping, 2 and disaster relief. 3,4 A fixed-wing configuration is usual for low-altitude long-endurance (LALE) small solar-powered UAVs due to solar cells being mounted on the wing, which determines the energy supply capacity. Consequently, this type constrains the take-off and landing capabilities of solar-powered UAVs as well as their application scope in specific scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared with HALE solar-powered UAVs, LALE solar-powered UAVs cannot store high-altitude potential energy, and face more challenging meteorological phenomena of the atmosphere (clouds, wind gusts, and thermals). Therefore, many research groups have developed various small fixed-wing solar UAVs (i.e., Solong, 11–13 Sky-Sailor, 14 Sun-Sailor, 15 University of Minnesota’s SUAV, 2,16,17 Green Falcon UAV, 18 Cranfield University’s Solar UAV, 19 AtlantikSolar, 3,20,21 and Plateau 4 ). Noth 1 proposed a matching parameter mode of energy and power for perpetual flight of small solar-powered UAV and applied the method to the development of the Sky-Sailor project, which performed a continuous 27-hour flight in 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Conceptual design of long-endurance small solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle with multiple tilts and hovers

Cao,

Liu,

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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This paper presents an overall scheme of a long-endurance small solar-powered convertible unmanned aerial vehicle (CUAV) that operates tilt-rotor for multiple hover tasks. First, a solar/battery hybrid energy strategy was proposed to comprehensively meet the requirements of CUAVs with long endurance and multiple hovers. The particular ability of the solar-powered fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), pure battery-powered CUAV, and the proposed long-endurance solar-powered CUAV with multiple cruises and hovers were comparatively analyzed from an energy standpoint. Second, a suitable conceptual design method and process for small solar-powered CUAV was given, and the robustness of the designed CUAV was using three performance metrics under nominal conditions. The approach was then applied to design a 6.5 kg CUAV, which was initially tested in flight. Finally, the performance and application potential of the designed CUAV was evaluated with operating conditions, mission requirements, energy input, and perpetual flight capability.

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Section: Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conceptual design of long-endurance small solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle with multiple tilts and hovers

Cao,

Liu,

et al. 2023

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Long-endurance low-speed aircraft, represented by solar aircraft, has the advantage of high cruise efficiency and is widely used in low-speed reconnaissance [1][2][3]. For such aircraft, the traditional rigid skin cannot meet the requirements of rigidity and weight at the same time, so the skin material is usually flexible membrane [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Performance of Double Membrane Wing for Long-Endurance Low-Speed Aircraft

Zhang

Yang

et al. 2022

Applied Sciences

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Flexible membrane structure is generally used as wing skin for long-endurance low-speed aircraft, such as solar aircraft, to control the structure weight within the allowable range. Predictably, the elastic deformation of the membrane under complex loads will cause uncertain impacts on the aerodynamic performance. The existing research indicates that the deformation of the membrane wing is helpful to improve the aerodynamic characteristics. However, most of the research objects are non-thickness membrane wings. In this paper, wind tunnel experiments are performed on double membrane wings. The experiment results indicate that the membrane deformation behavior is related to the surface curvature distribution and will change the camber and thickness of the airfoil. The deformation has little effect on lift but has a significant effect on drag and pitching moment. On this basis, a high-precision fluid structure coupling analysis method for the wider range of research is introduced. The numerical analysis indicates that the deformation can delay the stall angle by 1°. Furthermore, based on the numerical results, suggestions on prestress setting during membrane skin laying are provided, and the numerical simulation results of two flexible skin wings are compared. The research results of this paper provide a scientific basis for the aerodynamic design and analysis of long-endurance low-speed aircraft.

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“…Recent work in Solar UAVs [36,37] has shown interest in developing conceptual design algorithms, with the possibility of parameter optimization. In [38] the authors proposed an optimization solution using genetic algorithms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Extended Methodology for Sizing Solar Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Theory and Development of a Python Framework for Design Assist

Silva

Pacheco

2021

Sensors

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There is a growing interest in using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the most diverse application areas from agriculture to remote sensing, that determine the need to project and define mission profiles of the UAVs. In addition, solar photovoltaic energy increases the flight autonomy of this type of aircraft, forming the term Solar UAV. This study proposes an extended methodology for sizing Solar UAVs that take off from a runway. This methodology considers mission parameters such as operating location, altitude, flight speed, flight endurance, and payload to sizing the aircraft parameters, such as wingspan, area of embedded solar cells panels, runway length required for takeoff and landing, battery weight, and the total weight of the aircraft. Using the Python language, we developed a framework to apply the proposed methodology and assist in designing a Solar UAV. With this framework, it was possible to perform a sensitivity analysis of design parameters and constraints. Finally, we performed a simulation of a mission, checking the output parameters.

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Design of a Hand-Launched Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System for Plateau

Cited by 11 publications

References 13 publications

Conceptual design of long-endurance small solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle with multiple tilts and hovers

Conceptual design of long-endurance small solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle with multiple tilts and hovers

Experimental and Numerical Study on the Performance of Double Membrane Wing for Long-Endurance Low-Speed Aircraft

An Extended Methodology for Sizing Solar Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Theory and Development of a Python Framework for Design Assist

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