Roll aerodynamic characteristics study of an unmanned aerial vehicle based on circulation control technology

Abstract

To explore the control efficiency of circulation flow control technology, a circulation control actuator with an independent gas source has been designed and applied in roll attitude control of a small unmanned aerial vehicle. The circulation control devices are arranged at the two ends of the wing on an unmanned aerial vehicle scale model, the changes in aerodynamic force and aerodynamic moment caused by turning on the actuator are measured in a wind tunnel, and the flow field characteristics are analysed using particle image velocimetry technology. The flight control effect of the roll attitude is verified via a flight test. Experimental and flight test results show that the control of roll attitude can be achieved by turning on the circulation control actuator on one side, and the maximum efficiency that the circulation control generates is equivalent to 8° aileron deflection with production of a favorable yaw moment to achieve a coordinated turn. The circulation control actuator can increase lift and reduce drag when opened on both sides simultaneously. The maximum lift-to-drag ratio of the UAV increased from 5 to 9, and this approach can also suppress flow separation and delay stall at high angles of attack. The aileron or trailing edge flaps can be replaced with circulation control actuators, and the circulation control technology can also be applied to aerodynamic performance improvement and flight control in other types of aircraft.

Keywords

Circulation control unmanned aerial vehicle particle image velocimetry attitude control flight control

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Englar

Huson

. Development of advanced circulation control wing high lift airfoils. J Aircraft 2015; 21: 476–483.

Frith SP and Wood NJ. Investigation of dual circulation control surfaces for flight control. In: Proceedings of the 2nd AIAA flow control conference, Portland, OR, USA, 2004.

Zhan

Cheng

Zhao

. Research on active flow control technology. J Aviat Sci Technol 2010; 5: 2–6.

Abramson J and Rogers EO. High-speed characteristics of circulation control airfoils. In: 21st aerospace sciences meeting, Reno, NV, USA, 1983.

Wood NJ and Nielsen JN. Circulation control airfoils - Past, present, future. In: 23 rd aerospace sciences meeting, Reno, NV, USA, 1985.

Traub

Lund

Reeder

et al.

Preliminary flight tests of a hinge-less roll control effecter. J Aircraft 2006; 43: 1244–1246.

Traub

. Analytic drag prediction for cambered wings with partial leading edge suction. J Aircraft 2009; 46: 312–319.

Traub

Biegner

. Experimental evaluation of a self-contained circulation-control wing. J Aircraft 2013; 50: 764–777.

Kanistras K, Rutherford MJ and Valavanis KP. Development of a circulation control wing for UAVs. In: Aerospace conference, Big Sky, MT, USA, 2014.

10.

Ran

Mavris

Kirby

. Rapid-prototyping method for modeling a circulation-control wing at low speeds. J Aircraft 2012; 49: 1480–1484.

11.

Adam E and Louis NC. Topology of a trailing vortex flow field with steady circulation control blowing. In: 53rd AIAA aerospace sciences meeting, Kissimmee, FL, USA, 2015.

12.

Shi

et al.

Aerodynamic moment control of flying wing vehicle using plasma actuators. Acta Aeronaut Astronaut Sin 2013; 34: 2038–2046.

13.

Shi

Geng

et al.

Experimental study of directional-lateral aerodynamic moment control of micro air vehicle by plasma actuators. Acta Aeronaut Astronaut Sin 2012; 10: 1781–1790.

14.

Shi

Cheng

. Topological structures of vortex flow on a flying wing aircraft, controlled by a nanosecond pulse discharge plasma actuator. Appl Phys Lett 2016; 108: 244105–244105.

15.

Philip W. FLAVIIR - An integrated program of research for UAVs. In: 3rd AIAA flow control conference, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2006.

16.

Fielding JP, Lawson CP, Martins-Pires RM, et al. Design, build and flight of the DEMON demonstrator UAV. In: 11th AIAA aviation technology, integration, and operations (ATIO) conference, Aviation Technology, Virginia Beach, VA, USA, 2011.

17.

Pfingsten KC and Radespiel R. Experimental and numerical investigation of a circulation control airfoil. In: 47th AIAA aerospace sciences meeting including The New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, Orlando, FL, USA, 2009.

18.

Jones GS and Yao C-S. Experimental investigation of a 2D supercritical circulation control airfoil using particle image velocimetry. In: 3rd AIAA flow control conference, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2006.

19.

Rogers EO and Donnelly MJ. Characteristics of a dual-slotted CC wing of low aspect ratio in-tended for naval hydrodynamic applications. In: 42nd AIAA aerospace sciences meeting and exhibit, Reno, NV, 2004.

20.

Buonanno A, Cook MV and Erbsloh SD. Flight dynamic simulation of a flapless flight control UAV. In: 25th congress of international council of the aeronautical sciences, Hamburg, Germany, Paper ICAS, 2006.