Modeling and flight testing of wing shaping for autonomous control

Michael A. Thamann, Scott W. Ashcraft, Suzanne Weaver Smith, Sean C. Bailey, E. Brady Doepke

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

UAV development and usage has increased dramatically in the last 15 years. In this time frame the potential has been realized for deployable UAVs to the extent that a new class of UAV was defined for these systems. Inflatable wing UAVs provide a unique solution for deployable UAVs because they are highly packable (some packing to 5-10% of their deployed volume) and have the potential for the incorporation of wing shaping. In this paper, aileron effectiveness was derived from the equations of motion of aircraft as a necessary parameter for roll control during autonomous flight. A modeling process was then developed to calculate the aileron effectiveness of a wing shaping demonstrator aircraft. Successful autonomous flight tests were performed with the demonstrator aircraft including in-flight aileron doublets to validate the predicted aileron effectiveness, which matched within 8%.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference - Boston, MA, United States
Duration: Apr 8 2013Apr 11 2013

Publication series

Name54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference

Conference

Conference54th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston, MA
Period4/8/134/11/13

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Building and Construction
  • Architecture

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