Parametric study on efficient formation flying for a blended-wing UAV

Shin, Hyo‐Sang; Antoniadis, Antonis F.; Tsourdos, Antonios

doi:10.1109/icuas.2017.7991453

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The in-house solver employed for the current simulation is detailed, demonstrating current and future capabilities related to formation flight physics. Note that the framework modelled in this section is based on the one in our previous study [10].…”

Section: Framework Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it will be essential to incorporate the 3D wake vortices and induced drag in the 2D-based investigation. Therefore, this paper applies the RANS that is also applied in our previous study [10]. Note that Reynolds number, viscosity and compressibility effects are taken into account in the RANS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As UAV formation could consist of increased numbers of aircraft, configurations of formation could become critical. In our previous study [10], we performed an initial investigation on several configurations of UAV formation and carried out initial analysis on the effect of those configurations on the aerodynamic performance. Note that in this study, the number of UAVs was limited to seven aircraft and only two types of formation configurations were considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parametric Study on Formation Flying Effectiveness for a Blended-Wing UAV

Shin

Antoniadis

Tsourdos

2018

J Intell Robot Syst

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This paper investigates aerodynamic performance improvements of formation flight at transonic speeds for a medium size Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The metric for assessing the aerodynamic improvement of formation flight is the computed drag. The total drag for each formation configuration is compared with a single UAV, where a final drag reduction percentage is estimated. The evaluation of the aerodynamic performance is conducted by employing an in-house Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver, grid generation and post processing tools. For critical understanding of the tendency of the formation efficiency depending on main parameters, broad formation configurations are analysed. The parameterisation includes number of aircraft, proximity and formation shape. Full realisation of the benefit predicted would need to be proven in the real world, but there is sufficient confidence to suggest that it exist: the empirical parametric analysis suggests that formation flight can improves aerodynamic performance and formation configuration greatly influence the degree of improvement.

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Section: Framework Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Parametric Study on Formation Flying Effectiveness for a Blended-Wing UAV

Shin

Antoniadis

Tsourdos

2018

J Intell Robot Syst

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A Multi-Fidelity Approach for Aerodynamic Performance Computations of Formation Flight

et al. 2018

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This paper introduces a multi-fidelity computational framework for the analysis of aerodynamic performance of flight formation. The Vortex Lattice and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes methods form the basis of the framework, as low-and high-fidelity, respectively. Initially, the computational framework is validated for an isolated wing, and then two rectangular NACA23012 wings are considered for assessing the aerodynamic performance of this formation; the optimal relative position is through the multi-fidelity framework based on the total drag reduction. The performance estimates are in good agreement with experimental measurements of the same configuration. Total aerodynamic performance of formation flight is also assessed with respect to attitude variations of the lifting bodies involved. The framework is also employed to determine the optimal position of blended-wing-body unmanned aerial vehicles in tandem formation flight.

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Aerodynamic Analysis of Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Moving in Swarm

İnan,

Ceylan

2024

Applied Sciences

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This paper presents a close-formation flight of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the aim of the study is to improve the understanding of the vortex effects between fixed-wing UAVs in a swarm using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. To validate the numerical method, results of a variable-density wind tunnel test from the literature were used. This numerical CFD analysis was used to determine the lift coefficient (CL) and the drag coefficient (CD) values for a single UAV at various angles of attack. When examining the aerodynamic impact areas behind the UAV, the longitudinal distance between the two UAVs is not particularly effective for close flight. Therefore, CFD analyses were carried out on the two UAVs for both vertical and lateral distances. The optimum position for close-formation flight was identified using CL/CD ratios. The results of the analysis indicate that the most effective flights, across all lateral positions, occur when the two UAVs are vertically at the same height. In terms of aerodynamic efficiency, the most effective points for close-formation flight for wingspan b are at lateral distances of 0.875 b and 1 b. At these positions, flight efficiency can be increased by approximately 11.5%.

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Parametric study on efficient formation flying for a blended-wing UAV

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

Parametric Study on Formation Flying Effectiveness for a Blended-Wing UAV

Parametric Study on Formation Flying Effectiveness for a Blended-Wing UAV

A Multi-Fidelity Approach for Aerodynamic Performance Computations of Formation Flight

Aerodynamic Analysis of Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Moving in Swarm

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