Research on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Design

Abstract

The thesis is concerned with the design and testing of a mini tail sitter VTOL UAV. The design consists of a Duct System with a single Propeller Engine coupled with Four Internal Aerofoil Rotor Flap (Designed for counter Gyro-scopic Effect) and four Rudder-vators Flight Controls (Design for Pitch and Yaw Stability and control). The main aim of the study is to understand the dynamics and control of the vehicle when transiting from vertical take-off to horizontal cruising mode. Both computational results and experimental measurements of the aerodynamic forces show that the axis symmetric craft has asymmetric aerodynamic properties caused by propeller slipstream. The non-intuitive aerodynamics requires a careful selection of the position of the centre of mass to ensure a trim able and stable craft with adequate static margin.