Design and Build of an Aileronless UAV

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Design and Build of an Aileronless UAV

Maziar Arjomandi

Brooke Bella Balogh, James Phillip Connell, Samuel Ross Dudley, Mark William Fosdike,

Craig Peter Lucas, Stephen Michael Robb, Tyler James Schembri and Peter Tsimopoulos

(Commenced: 01-Jan-2011, Concluded: 30-Nov-2011)

Maziar Arjomandi

Brooke Bella Balogh

James Phillip Connell

Samuel Ross Dudley

Mark William Fosdike

Craig Peter Lucas

Stephen Michael Robb

Tyler James Schembri

Peter Tsimopoulos

The Design and Build of an Aileronless Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was a project undertaken by a team of eight undergraduate students from the University of Adelaide during 2011. Students from multidisciplinary engineering backgrounds each provided a unique skillset as the team investigated using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators as a replacement for mechanical ailerons; devices which were dubbed 'plasmerons'. These are light-weight, easily mounted means of circulation control with the potential to be used as a method to achieve active roll control. Circulation control has been an area of increasing interest and investigation in recent years as it enables an enhancement of the lift and a reduction of the drag produced by a conventional wing, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and operating costs. The team researched and tested actuator con
figurations while concurrently developing a platform known as 'UAV SPARC' (UAV for Surveillance with Plasma Actuated Roll Control) to flight test these upon.

After the initial extensive research stage, static plasma actuator thrust tests, velocity pro
ling and active wind tunnel tests were completed. This resulted the development of an actuator con
figuration for use as a plasmeron on the platform being developed. This research, along with a literature review of UAVs and their associated technologies, enabled the generation of a platform conceptual design which effectively housed the plasma actuator technology. The detailed design of the platform was developed with the aid of computer aided design (CAD) modelling and initially this design focussed primarily on the wing to ensure the plasmerons could be tested successfully. The wing was designed to have inboard flaperons for general manoeuvrability and outboard plasmerons optimised to demonstrate their potential for roll control.

A structurally sound platform with complex airframe geometries was made possible through the use of composite materials and layup techniques. To provide functionality to the mechanical design, an avionics system was designed to ensure SPARC could be controlled effectively and enabled onboard data to be collected and consequently analysed throughout the flight testing phase. The plasmerons were integrated onto the platform with a multi-contingency fail-safe system in place to ensure safe and effective operation during testing.

Due to time constraints imposed upon the project, the flight testing phase was unable to be satisfactorily completed in time for report compilation. However the wind tunnel results definitively show a change in sectional lift coefficient sufficient to produce roll on the experimental platform can be produced by a plasmeron.

Project Sponsors

· Clark Surfboards

· Carbon Fiber Australia

· Aztronics

· Gigavac

· Noarlunga Model Aerosports

Project Deliverables

“Not available for download”

Video Galleries:

Video 1