Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2023
27th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Flight Campaign Analysis of a Flexible Wing UAV for Studying Flexible Aircraft Dynamics
Submission Author:
Vítor Fernandes , SP
Co-Authors:
Vítor Fernandes, Thiago Rosado de Paula, Rodrigo Costa do Nascimento, Luiz Carlos Góes, ROBERTO GIL ANNES DA SILVA, Alain Souza
Presenter: Vítor Fernandes
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2023.COB2023-2302
Abstract
This article presents an analysis of a flight campaign using a small flexible wing UAV. The aircraft has a 4m wingspan, an aspect ratio of 18.9, electric propulsion, and an acquisition system that permits studying the effects of flexibility. Flights were performed to evaluate the behavior of the system concerning the data acquisition system, and excitations were conducted to obtain responses for specific modes. To ensure precise time and amplitude control of the inputs and to remove problems associated with manual execution, programmed maneuvers were used. Data compatibility was verified using the flight path reconstruction (FPR) technique. The paper also discusses the effects of wing flexibility on sensor measurements that do not aim to be related to flexible modes and operational aspects of the test flights. The results of the FPR analysis showed that the recorded data is consistent and the evaluated biases, scale factors and time delays obtained with the FRP were able to correlate the recorded data with the model, except for airspeed and angle of attack, which were not well fitted with the classic rigid body kinematics. The system proved to be an effective platform for studying flexible aircraft flight dynamics, and the established procedure to execute inputs and their respective recorded response provided a solid foundation for further research using this platform, improving past campaigns that relied on manual inputs.
Keywords
flexible aircraft, UAV, FPR, aircraft flight dynamics, System Identification
