Design, Modeling, and Simulation of a Wing Sail Land Yacht

Autonomous land yachts can play a major role in the context of environmental monitoring, namely, in open, flat, windy regions, such as iced planes or sandy shorelines. This work addresses the design, modeling, and simulation of a land yacht probe equipped with a rigid free-rotating wing sail and tail flap. The wing was designed with a symmetrical airfoil and dimensions to provide the necessary thrust to displace the vehicle. Specifically, it proposes a novel design and simulation method for free rotating wing sail autonomous land yachts. The simulation relies on the Gazebo simulator together with the Robotic Operating System (ROS) middleware. It uses a modified Gazebo aerodynamics plugin to generate the lift and drag forces and the yawing moment, two newly created plugins, one to act as a wind sensor and the other to set the wing flap angular position, and the 3D model of the land yacht created with Fusion 360. The wing sail aligns automatically to the wind direction and can be set to any given angle of attack, stabilizing after a few seconds. Finally, the obtained polar diagram characterizes the expected sailing performance of the land yacht. The described method can be adopted to evaluate different wing sail configurations, as well as control techniques, for autonomous land yachts.

Aerodynamics of a half-rotating wing in hovering flight: An integrated study

This study introduces a new quasi-flapping wing driving mechanism based on a half-rotating mechanism which is capable of pure rotational flapping rather than the more traditional oscillatory flapping method. Lift models for half-rotating wing (HRW) aircraft in hovering flight are proposed based on the kinematics of a HRW prototype and the flow characteristics near the surface of its wing. Alongside further analytical expressions for lift based on kinematic extractions, computational models and a novel lift validation mechanism are used to reinforce the aerodynamic characteristics of the HRW in hovering flight. The aerodynamics of the HRW are experimentally assessed for different wing layouts and wing materials. Results indicate that the flow field generated by the motion of the wing arranged symmetrically on both sides of the body interfere with each other, causing the average lift coefficient of the paired-wing HRW to be less than that of the single-wing HRW. The average lift coefficient of the flexible wing is larger than that of the rigid wing. In addition, the average lift of the flexible wing increases with increasing flexural compliance within a particular range. Lift forces in different flight conditions are calculated using derived formulas alongside representative computational models, through which the derivation of lift variation for the HRW in hovering flight is validated. The theoretical lift curves show reasonable agreement with numerical simulation results in terms of the time course over one stroke cycle. The mechanisms of the HRW for generation and shedding of vortices in hovering flight are further revealed in computed flow field characteristics results. The velocity vectors of the flow field between the HRW and the symmetrically rotating wing indicate that the HRW with asymmetric rotation can generate lift force effectively. The velocity difference between the wing and the fluid is the key factor influencing the structure of generated vortices. In detailed three-dimensional (3D) vortex flows, our computational fluid dynamics study shows that a horseshoe-shaped vortex is first generated in the early downstroke. The horseshoe-shaped vortex subsequently grows into a doughnut-shaped vortex ring, with a jet stream appearing in its core which forms the downwash. The doughnut-shaped vortex ring eventually elongates into a long arc-shaped wake vortex ring. A large increasing lift force is generated during the upstroke, most likely due to the stable distal attached vortices; and in accordance with this, downwash becomes evident in the vortex ring during the downstroke.

Improvement of the thrust-torque ratio of an unmanned helicopter by using the ABC algorithm

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use an ABC algorithm to improve the thrust–torque ratio of a rotating-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) model. Design/methodology/approach The design of UAVs, such as aircraft, drones, helicopters, has become one of the popular engineering areas with the development of technology. This study aims to improve the value of thrust–torque ratio of an unmanned helicopter. For this purpose, an unmanned helicopter was built at the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Erciyes University. The maximum thrust–torque ratio was calculated considering the blade length, blade chord width, blade mass density and blade twist angle. For calculation, artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm was used. By using ABC algorithm, the maximum thrust–torque ratio was obtained against the optimum input values. For this purpose, a model with four inputs and a single output is formed. In the generated system model, optimum thrust–torque ratio was calculated by changing the input values used in the ±5% range. As a result of this study, approximately 31% improvement was achieved. According to these results, the proposed approach will provide convenience to the designers in the design of the rotating-wing UAV. Findings According to these results, approximately 31% improvement was achieved, and the proposed approach will provide convenience to the designers in the design of the rotating-wing UAV. Research limitations/implications It takes a long time to obtain the optimum thrust–torque ratio value through the ABC algorithm method. Practical implications Using ABC algorithm provides to improve the value of thrust–torque ratio of an unmanned helicopter. With this algorithm, unmanned helicopter flies more than ever. Thus, the presented method based on the ABC algorithm is more efficient. Social implications The application of the ABC algorithm method can be used effectively to calculate the thrust–torque ratio in UAV. Originality/value Providing an original and penetrating a method that saves time and reduces the cost to improve the value of thrust–torque ratio of an unmanned helicopter.

Experimental Research on Wingtip Vortices using a Half Deltawing at the Tips

The counter rotating wing tip vortices produced by the aircraft continues to be a big concern for the aviation industry and the aircraft manufacturers due to its hazardous effects on the flight safety and aircraft efficiency. The strength of the vortices poses severe problems to the aircraft operations. Manufacturers developed various wingtip devices to alleviate this problem, but still it is not fully understood and solved. In this thesis, the effectiveness of using a half delta wing at the tips is investigated. The flow field over a low aspect ratio NACA 0015 wing fitted with a slender sharp half delta wing with a leading edge sweep angle 700 at a Reynolds number 1.87 ×105 is investigated. Particle image velocimetry is used to quantify the vortex structure and force balance measurements are used to calculate the aerodynamic data of the wing. The peak vorticity, peak tangential velocity are decreased due to the addition of half delta wing. The over-all radius of the wingtip vortex increased showing a diffused vortex due to the addition of the half delta wing. The core circulation is decreased leading to a lower strength vortex. Though the tip device increased the drag, it increases the aerodynamic efficiency through the improvement in L/D

The role of rotary motion on vortices in reverse flow

The physics of a rotary wing in forward flight are highly complex, particularly when flow separation is involved. The purpose of this work is to assess the role of three-dimensional (3-D) vortex dynamics, with a focus on Coriolis forces, in the evolution of vortices in the reverse flow region of a rotating wing. High-fidelity numerical simulations were performed to recreate the flow about a representative rotating wing in forward flight. A vorticity transport analysis was performed to quantify and compare the magnitudes of 2-D flow physics, vortex tilting and Coriolis effects in the resulting flow fields. Three-dimensional vortex dynamics was found to have a very small impact on the growth and behaviour of vortices in the reverse flow region; in fact, the rate of vortex growth was successfully modelled using a simple 2-D vortex method. The small role of 3-D physics was attributed to the Coriolis and vortex tilting terms being approximately equal and opposite to one another. This ultimately lead to vortex behaviour that more closely resembled a surging wing as opposed to a conventional rotating wing, a feature unique to the reverse flow region.

Experiment on Wingtip Vortices using a Half Deltawing at the Tips

The counter rotating wing tip vortices produced by the aircraft continues to be a big concern for the aviation industry and the aircraft manufacturers due to its hazardous effects on the flight safety and aircraft efficiency. The strength of the vortices poses severe problems to the aircraft operations. Manufacturers developed various wingtip devices to alleviate this problem, but still it is not fully understood and solved. In this thesis, the effectiveness of using a half delta wing at the tips is investigated. The flow field over a low aspect ratio NACA 0015 wing fitted with a slender sharp half delta wing with a leading edge sweep angle 700 at a Reynolds number 1.87 ×105 is investigated. Particle image velocimetry is used to quantify the vortex structure and force balance measurements are used to calculate the aerodynamic data of the wing. The peak vorticity, peak tangential velocity are decreased due to the addition of half delta wing. The over-all radius of the wingtip vortex increased showing a diffused vortex due to the addition of the half delta wing. The core circulation is decreased leading to a lower strength vortex. Though the tip device increased the drag, it increases the aerodynamic efficiency through the improvement in L/D.

Preliminary analysis on an IVHM approach for prognosis of high-pressure filters for hydraulic Power Control Modules of helicopters

The process of filtration is critical to ensure long operative life to on-board hydraulic equipment, especially in rotating-wing application where the severe vibratory environment lead to accelerated wear of the mechanical components and hence an increased production of debris. Filtration is obtained by mechanically separating the physical contaminants from the hydraulic fluid by means of filters, which hence tend to clog under prolonged usage. Filter replacement has been so far pursued through scheduled maintenance strategy, which however have proven to be rather cost-ineffective. To transition to a Condition-Based Maintenance, new Prognostics and Health Monitoring frameworks need to be developed. The paper deals with the feasibility analysis of such a system based on a high-fidelity simulation environment, rigorous description of the operating conditions and state-of-the-art algorithms.

The leading-edge vortex on a rotating wing changes markedly beyond a certain central body size

Stable attachment of a leading-edge vortex (LEV) plays a key role in generating the high lift on rotating wings with a central body. The central body size can affect the LEV structure broadly in two ways. First, an overall change in the size changes the Reynolds number, which is known to have an influence on the LEV structure. Second, it may affect the Coriolis acceleration acting across the wing, depending on the wing-offset from the axis of rotation. To investigate this, the effects of Reynolds number and the wing-offset are independently studied for a rotating wing. The three-dimensional LEV structure is mapped using a scanning particle image velocimetry technique. The rapid acquisition of images and their correlation are carefully validated. The results presented in this paper show that the LEV structure changes mainly with the Reynolds number. The LEV-split is found to be only minimally affected by changing the central body radius in the range of small offsets, which interestingly includes the range for most insects. However, beyond this small offset range, the LEV-split is found to change dramatically.