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Coupled Flexible and Flight Dynamics Modeling and Simulation of a Full-Wing Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

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Abstract

The full-wing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) adopts a large aspect ratio wing, a lightweight structural design, and a differential throttle control scheme to maximize flight endurance. Large structural deformation often occurs when the wing is heavily loaded, which affects its flight stability, trajectory tracking accuracy, and flight performance. The traditional rigid-body flight dynamics cannot accurately describe the actual dynamic behavior when the wing is deformed. To fully consider the coupling effect of the structural deformation and the flight motion, we derive a UAV combo model consisting of a flexible wing and rigid fuselage. In the model, we also include strain formulation (s-beam) for structural modeling, finite-state induced flow theory for aerodynamic modeling, static and dynamic combined experiments for engine modeling, and the rigid-body flight dynamic equation. Besides, a model modification method based on flight data is applied to improve the accuracy of the structural parameters. Simulation results show that the wingtip deformation and motion characteristics of the rigid- and combo-system are quite different: the combo model exhibits a certain lag in comparison with the rigid-body, with the amplitude of the motion parameters reduced by 50%, frequency 15%, system kinetic energy 11.8%, and the elevator control efficiency more than 40%.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Equipment Pre-research Project of China under Grant 41411010401, the National Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province under Grant 2018ZDCXL-GY-03004, and the Innovation Program of Research Institutions under Grant TC2018DYDS24. The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Editor-in-Chief, the Guest Editors, and the anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments have helped to improve the quality of this paper considerably.

Availability of Data and Materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published manuscript, and all authors of this paper are responsible for the authenticity of the data.

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Equipment Pre-research Project of China under Grant 41411010401, the National Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province under Grant 2018ZDCXL-GY-03004, and the Innovation Program of Research Institutions under Grant TC2018DYDS24.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, 710072, China

    An Guo, Zhou Zhou & Xin Zhao

  2. Science and Technology on UAV Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China

    Xiaoping Zhu

Authors
  1. An Guo
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  2. Zhou Zhou
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  3. Xiaoping Zhu
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  4. Xin Zhao
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Contributions

The first author, An Guo, undertook research acquisition, UAV modeling, data analysis, figure and table production, experimental design and completion of the paper, wrote the manuscript and revised the paper based on relevant comments, and was responsible for all aspects of the paper to ensure its authenticity.

The second author, Zhou Zhou, undertook the overall idea design, numerical analysis, and experimental design in the research work of this paper, and participated in the writing and review of the paper, and was responsible for all aspects of the paper as the corresponding author and the head of the funded project to ensure the authenticity of the paper.

The third author, Xiaoping Zhu, undertook the system modeling and experimental design of the UAV in the research work of this paper, made important contributions to the field test design of the UAV, helped to complete the verification of the simulation results, and was responsible for all aspects of the paper to ensure the authenticity of the paper.

The fourth author, Xin Zhao, undertook the literature search, simulation experimental verification, and helped to complete the writing and revision of the paper, and made important contributions to the work of the paper, and could be responsible for all aspects of the paper to ensure the authenticity of the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhou Zhou.

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Ethical Approval

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This paper has not been previously published, it is published with the permission of the authors’ institution, and all authors of this paper are responsible for the authenticity of the data in the paper.

Consent to Participate

All authors of this paper have been informed of the revision and publication of the paper, have checked all data, figures and tables in the manuscript, and are responsible for their truthfulness and accuracy.

Names of all contributing authors: An Guo; Zhou Zhou; Xiaoping Zhu; Xin Zhao.

Competing Interests

All authors of this paper declare no conflict of interest in this paper and agree to submit this manuscript to the Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems.

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Guo, A., Zhou, Z., Zhu, X. et al. Coupled Flexible and Flight Dynamics Modeling and Simulation of a Full-Wing Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. J Intell Robot Syst 101, 56 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01343-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01343-z

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