Simulations of Tubular UAV With Vectored Thrust in Near-Hovering Regimes in the Presence of Side Winds

Abstract

An innovative unmanned aerial vehicle with a tubular body and a vectored thruster is considered in this study. In order to optimize the vehicle design and develop effective means for its control, aerodynamic characteristics of this vehicle need to be known. Computational fluid dynamics studies employing STAR-CCM+ software have been carried out for this UAV in near-hovering regimes. Aerodynamic simulations employed the SST k–ω turbulence model, γ transition model, and a virtual actuator disk model. After conducting a validation study with a cylinder in axial flow, modeling of the UAV setup was completed for a range of propulsor orientations and cross winds. The aerodynamic phenomena are found to become more complex with increasing the propulsor angle with respect to the main body axis and in stronger cross winds due to interactions between the incident flow, the propulsor jet, and the body surface. At the propulsor deflection angle of 15°, the horizontal aerodynamic force on the body was augmented by 0.02–0.07 of the propulsor thrust magnitude in various wind conditions, whereas the axial downward force increased by 0.01–0.03 of the thrust. In cross winds with the relative velocity magnitude of 0.65, the horizontal aerodynamic force on the body increased by about 0.25 of the propulsor thrust magnitude, while the axial downward force increased by about 0.05 of the thrust.