Design and CFD Analysis of a Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Surveillance Purpose
Taye Stephen Mogaji1* Adegoke Ezekiel Fadiji2, Babatunde David Oladipupo1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Engineering
Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, PMB 104, Ondo State, Nigeria
2Department of Electrical Electronic Engineering, Bamidele Olumilua University of
Education, Science and Technology, Ikere Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Email: mogajits@gmail.com; Corresponding Author: Taye Stephen Mogaji1*
ABSTRACT
This article is based on the design and CFD analysis of a long-range fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) suitable for wide area surveillance. Taking a systems approach, the components of the UAV were designed and applied with Burke’s framework. The conceptual drawing of the proposed fixed wing UAV was done using Solidworks computer aided design CAD application software. The designed UAV has a span of 1.5m and fuselage length of 1.135m. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis was ran on the fixed wing UAV to evaluate its performance. The CFD result revealed that the upper surface of the wing experiences a higher velocity
than the bottom surface as expected. It is also found that the aircraft is stable statically and dynamically during flight period of simulation test. Other simulation results carried out showed that the design is considered safe and fit for fabrication.The fixed wing UAV when fabricated can be used for surveillance purpose suitable for civilian and military applications.
Keywords: fixed wing UAV, CFD, conceptual design, simulation
