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Despite the increasing demand of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for a wide range of civil applications, there are few methodologies for their initial sizing. Nowadays, classical methods, mainly developed for transport aircraft, have been adapted to UAVs. However, these tools are not always suitable because they do not fully adapt to the plethora of geometrical and propulsive configurations that the UAV sector represents. Therefore, this work provides series of correlations based on off-the-shelf components for the preliminary sizing of propulsion systems for UAVs. This study encompassed electric and fuel-powered propulsion systems, considering that they are the most used in the UAV industry and are the basis of novel architectures such as hybrid propulsion. For these systems, weight correlations were derived, and, depending on data availability, correlations regarding their geometry and energy consumption are also provided. Furthermore, a flowchart for the implementation of the correlations in the UAV design procedure and two practical examples are provided to highlight their usability. To summarize, the main contribution of this work is to provide parametric tools to size rapidly the propulsion system components, which can be embedded in a UAV design and optimization framework. This research complements other correlation studies for UAVs, where the initial sizing of the vehicle is discussed. The present correlations suit multiple UAV categories ranging from micro to Medium-Altitude-Long-Endurance (MALE) UAVs.
Victor Alulema; Esteban Valencia; Edgar Cando; Victor Hidalgo; Dario Rodriguez. Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Aerospace 2021, 8, 171 .
AMA StyleVictor Alulema, Esteban Valencia, Edgar Cando, Victor Hidalgo, Dario Rodriguez. Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Aerospace. 2021; 8 (7):171.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVictor Alulema; Esteban Valencia; Edgar Cando; Victor Hidalgo; Dario Rodriguez. 2021. "Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles." Aerospace 8, no. 7: 171.
The geometry, volume, and mass properties (GVM) of lifting surfaces and wing box structures play an important role in aircraft design and optimization. Commercial Computer-Aided-Design packages can be employed to determine these features; however, they are difficult to embed in multidisciplinary frameworks because of their limited scripting capabilities and their black-box structure. In this context, the present work introduces an open-source, fully scriptable, high fidelity, and low computational demanding methodology to compute the volume and mass properties of lifting surfaces and wingbox structures using their three-dimensional geometric definition. NURBS modeling is employed to generate the 3-D geometry and derive the vertex representation of the lifting surface. The volume computation is based on the Divergence Theorem and employs a structured triangulation approach, tailored for lifting surfaces and their cross sections. The mass properties (i.e. center of mass and moments of inertia) are calculated as a system of mass particles. For this, a mass distribution model, based on the thickness and chord distribution throughout the lifting surface, has been elaborated. The methodology for volume computation and the mass distribution model has been validated analytically using a simple polytope that resembles to a lifting surface. The convergence and the robustness of the methodology has been evaluated for a straight tapered lifting surface. The results indicate a maximum error, compared with a commercial CAD software, of 0.3% and 0.5% for the volume and mass properties computation, respectively. In addition, to assess its suitability for complex lifting surfaces, the NASA Common Research Model aircraft (NASA-CRM) has been used as case of study. To summarize, the main contribution of this work lies on the development of an open-source and fully scriptable methodology, which can be easily implemented in any computational environment for aircraft design and optimization.
Esteban Valencia; Victor Alulema; Victor Hidalgo; Dario Rodriguez. A CAD-free methodology for volume and mass properties computation of 3-D lifting surfaces and wing-box structures. Aerospace Science and Technology 2020, 108, 106378 .
AMA StyleEsteban Valencia, Victor Alulema, Victor Hidalgo, Dario Rodriguez. A CAD-free methodology for volume and mass properties computation of 3-D lifting surfaces and wing-box structures. Aerospace Science and Technology. 2020; 108 ():106378.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsteban Valencia; Victor Alulema; Victor Hidalgo; Dario Rodriguez. 2020. "A CAD-free methodology for volume and mass properties computation of 3-D lifting surfaces and wing-box structures." Aerospace Science and Technology 108, no. : 106378.
The aim of the project is to derive sizing correlations of propulsion system components commonly employed by fuel and electric powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Victor Alulema; Esteban Alejandro Valencia Torres; Edgar Hernan Cando Narvaez; Victor Hugo Hidalgo Diaz; Dario Alexander Rodriguez Claudio. Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleVictor Alulema, Esteban Alejandro Valencia Torres, Edgar Hernan Cando Narvaez, Victor Hugo Hidalgo Diaz, Dario Alexander Rodriguez Claudio. Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVictor Alulema; Esteban Alejandro Valencia Torres; Edgar Hernan Cando Narvaez; Victor Hugo Hidalgo Diaz; Dario Alexander Rodriguez Claudio. 2020. "Propulsion Sizing Correlations for Electrical and Fuel Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicles." , no. : 1.
The performance benefits of directly ingesting the boundary layer (BLI) on air vehicles with distributed propulsion (DP) systems has been documented and explored extensively. However, numerous investigations have demonstrated that the increase of the flow distortion in the inlets of conventional propulsors can dramatically reduce the expected benefits. Hence, this work presents an alternative fan configuration to re-energize the boundary layer, and at the same time, to perform properly in a distorted and non-uniform flow-field. This conceptual design utilizes a two-dimension idealized fan and replaces the rotational movement with linear displacement, avoiding the undesired effects of circumferential distortion on the propulsor operation. A quasi two-dimensional model based on the Discretized Miller approach has been used to compare the proposed configuration with a conventional axial fan. From the results obtained, it is observed that the thermal performance of the fan is less affected for the proposed configuration and furthermore, intake pressure losses are ameliorated by the use of a single mailbox shape inlet. The performance assessment of the proposed configuration coupled on the N3-X aircraft shows benefits of 4% in fuel savings compared with current BLI turbo-machinery configurations. The main contribution of this study lies on the definition of a preliminary design for an alternative propulsor configuration able to deal with circumferential distortion.
Esteban Valencia; Victor Alulema; Dario Rodriguez; Panagiotis Laskaridis; Ioannis Roumeliotis. Novel fan configuration for distributed propulsion systems with boundary layer ingestion on an hybrid wing body airframe. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 2020, 18, 100515 .
AMA StyleEsteban Valencia, Victor Alulema, Dario Rodriguez, Panagiotis Laskaridis, Ioannis Roumeliotis. Novel fan configuration for distributed propulsion systems with boundary layer ingestion on an hybrid wing body airframe. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress. 2020; 18 ():100515.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsteban Valencia; Victor Alulema; Dario Rodriguez; Panagiotis Laskaridis; Ioannis Roumeliotis. 2020. "Novel fan configuration for distributed propulsion systems with boundary layer ingestion on an hybrid wing body airframe." Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 18, no. : 100515.
The inspection of wetlands in the Ecuadorian highlands has gained importance due to the environmental issues linked to the growth of human activities and the expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontiers. In this sense, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been amply used in monitoring activities such as the supervision of threatened ecosystems, where cyclic measurements and high-resolution imagery are needed. However, the harsh operating conditions in the Andean highlands and sensitive ecosystem restrictions demand efficient propulsion configurations with low environmental impact. Electrical distributed propulsion (EDP) systems have surged as a forefront alternative since they offer benefits in both the propulsive and aerodynamic performance of fixed-wing UAVs. In this chapter, an EDP system is sized for a design point at the Andean operating conditions. Thereafter, two propulsion configurations were established based on off-the-shelf components, and their performance was characterized through analytical approaches. These results highlight the trends in power consumption and performance when the number of propulsors is increased. A significant contribution of this work is to exhibit important patterns in the performance of electric propulsion by using commercial components, and to set the operating limitations that can be further explored for analogous configurations in larger UAVs.
Esteban Valencia; Víctor Alulema; Darío Rodríguez. Wetland Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Electrical Distributed Propulsion Systems. Propulsion Systems 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleEsteban Valencia, Víctor Alulema, Darío Rodríguez. Wetland Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Electrical Distributed Propulsion Systems. Propulsion Systems. 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEsteban Valencia; Víctor Alulema; Darío Rodríguez. 2019. "Wetland Monitoring Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Electrical Distributed Propulsion Systems." Propulsion Systems , no. : 1.