Weight estimation of a conceptual wing for a high altitude, solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle

Alsahlani, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1675-5876 and Rahulan, T 2016, Weight estimation of a conceptual wing for a high altitude, solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle , in: 5th Aircraft Structural Design Conference, 4th October 2016, Manchester, UK.

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Abstract

In this paper, an in-house developed pre-conceptual design methodology and a composite structure module have been used to study the impact of aerodynamic performance, payload requirements and wing thickness to estimate the weight. In the first part, a pre-conceptual design methodology is introduced to examine the weight estimation for a conceptual high altitude, long endurance, solar powered aircraft, called ‘SUMER’, operating at 17 km altitude and 31o latitude (southern Iraq). The impact of aerodynamic performance parameters such as lift, drag and span efficiencies on the weight estimation are investigated. The study also includes estimation of the payload and the power consumption. This pre-conceptual design methodology establishes all the relationships between the components with analytical functions using their characteristics. This approach can directly provide a unique and optimal design for a given set of mission requirements. In the second part, an in-house developed low order composite structure module has been used to design and optimise the wing structure in addition to studying the impact of the maximum thickness of the wing and the spar dimensions on the weight. Detailed buckling characteristics were also taken into account during the study. The final conceptual design of the SUMER is introduced as a case study in this investigation.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Schools:	Schools > School of Computing, Science and Engineering
Journal or Publication Title:	5th Aircraft Structural Design Conference
Publisher:	The Royal Aeronautical Society
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation
Depositing User:	Dr Ahmad Alsahlani
Date Deposited:	21 Jun 2017 14:13
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2017 07:12
URI:	http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/42658

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