IMPLEMENTATION OF SEMI-EMPIRICAL MODELS TO ENHANCE THE ACCURACY OF PANEL METHODS FOR DRAG PREDICTION AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS

This paper introduces an attempt to enhance the accuracy of panel methods. A low-order panel method is selected and coupled with semi-empirical methods to enhance the accuracy of drag prediction of flying bodies at supersonic speeds. The semi-empirical methods are used to improve the accuracy of drag prediction by mathematical modelling of viscosity, base drag, and drag due to wing-body interference. Both methods were implemented by a computer program and validated against experimental and analytical results. The comparisons show that a considerable improvement has been achieved for the selected panel method for prediction of drag coefficients. In general, accuracy within an average value of -4.4% was obtained for the enhanced panel method. Such accuracy could be considered acceptable for the preliminary design stages of supersonic flying bodies such as projectiles and missiles. The developed computer program gives satisfactory results as long as the considered configurations are slender and the angles of attack are small (below stall angle).  ABSTRAK: Kertas kerja ini memperkenalkan percubaan untuk  mempertingkatkan ketepatan kaedah panel. Kaedah panel tertib rendah telah dipilih dan digabungkan dengan kaedah separa empirik untuk mempertingkatkan ketepatan ramalan seret objek terbang pada kelajuan supersonik. Kaedah semi empirikal yang digunakan untuk meningkatkan ketepatan jangkaan seret menggunakan model matematik bagi kelikatan, seretan dasar, dan  seretan disebabkan  oleh badan sayap interferens. Kedua-dua kaedah dijalankan menggunakan program komputer dan disah berdasarkan keputusan uji kaji dan analisis. Perbandingan keputusan menunjukkan peningkatan yang mendadak diperolehi melalui kaedah panel yang telah dipilih sebagai jangkaan pekali seret. Secara umumnya, ketepatan yang melingkungi nilai purata sebanyak -4.4% telah diperolehi daripada kaedah peningkatan panel. Keputusan sebegini boleh diterima untuk peringkat reka bentuk permulaan bagi objek terbang supersonik seperti projektil dan misil. Program komputer yang direka memberikan keputusan yang memuaskan selagi konfigurasi yang dipilih adalah kecil dan sudut serangan adalah rendah (di bawah sudut tegun)

Design and Fabrication of Small Vertical-Take-Off-Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Modern UAVs available in the market have well-developed to cater to the countless field of application. UAVs have their own limitations in terms of flight range and manoeuvrability. The traditional fixed-wing UAVs can fly for long distance but require runways or wide-open spaces for take-off and landing. On the other hand, the more trending multirotor UAVs are extremely manoeuvrable but cannot be used for long-distance flights because of their slower speeds and relatively higher consumption of energy. This study proposed the implementation of hybrid VTOL UAV which has the manoeuvring advantage of a multirotor UAV while having the ability to travel fast to reach a further distance. The design methodology and fabrication method are discussed extensively which would be followed by a number of flight tests to prove the concept. The proposed UAV would be equipped with quadcopter motors and a horizontal thrust motor for vertical and horizontal flight modes respectively

Investigation of a NACA0012 Finite Wing Aerodynamics at Low Reynold’s Numbers and 0º to 90º Angle of Attack

The aerodynamic characteristics of a NACA0012 wing geometry at low Reynold’s numbers and angle of attack ranging from 0º to 90º are investigated using numerical simulations and the results are validated by wind tunnel experiments. Further experiments are conducted at low Reynold’s numbers of 1 × 105, 2 × 105 and 3 × 105. Findings of the study show a similar trend for the lift and drag coefficients at all the investigated Reynold’s numbers. The lift coefficient is linearly increased with angle of attack until it reaches its maximum value at 32º which is the stall angle. It is observed that further increment in angle of attack results in decrement of lift coefficient until it reaches its minimum value at 90º angle of attack. The drag force acting on the airfoil increases as the angle of attack is increased and increment in the drag force results in change of laminar flow to turbulent flow. As the turbulence gets higher the flow starts to separate from the airfoil surface due to eddies generated by turbulence. Hence, the lift force generated by the wing is reduced and drag force is increased simultaneously, which results in poor performance of the wing

Lift and Drag of Non-conventional Wings at Subsonic Speeds and Zero Angle of Attack - An Experimental Investigation

Various non-conventional wing development shows potential in increasing the aerodynamic performance of airplanes. If the non-conventional wing only improves the aerodynamic performance by a small margin, conventional wing is still a better option for airline operators. This provides opportunity to continue research on non-conventional configurations that can greatly saves the fuel consumption. This research was conducted to examine the lift and drag of non-conventional wings at low subsonic speed and low angle of attack. Analytical method based on DATCOM was used to calculate the lift and drag coefficients of non-conventional cranked wing for comparison with experimental results obtained experimentally using Taylor’s wind tunnel (TWT). Experimental lift coefficient shows similar values with the analytical results but experimental drag coefficient had an average difference of 44%. The experimental setup and calibration of TWT were verified and further case studies on nonconventional wing model featuring trailing edge notches were carried out. Analysis of the results from case studies shows that generally the effect of varying the number of notches only had significant effect on drag reduction if the notch depth was higher. For flight condition that does not exceed 4° angle of attack, lower number of notches at higher notch depth had the best aerodynamic performance. On the other hand, for flight condition that requires cruise angle of attack that exceeds 4°, higher number of notches at higher notch depth had the best aerodynamic performance

Design and Fabrication of Small Vertical-Take-Off-Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Modern UAVs available in the market have well-developed to cater to the countless field of application. UAVs have their own limitations in terms of flight range and manoeuvrability. The traditional fixed-wing UAVs can fly for long distance but require runways or wide-open spaces for take-off and landing. On the other hand, the more trending multirotor UAVs are extremely manoeuvrable but cannot be used for long-distance flights because of their slower speeds and relatively higher consumption of energy. This study proposed the implementation of hybrid VTOL UAV which has the manoeuvring advantage of a multirotor UAV while having the ability to travel fast to reach a further distance. The design methodology and fabrication method are discussed extensively which would be followed by a number of flight tests to prove the concept. The proposed UAV would be equipped with quadcopter motors and a horizontal thrust motor for vertical and horizontal flight modes respectively

Design and Fabrication of Small Vertical-Take-Off-Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Modern UAVs available in the market have well-developed to cater to the countless field of application. UAVs have their own limitations in terms of flight range and manoeuvrability. The traditional fixed-wing UAVs can fly for long distance but require runways or wide-open spaces for take-off and landing. On the other hand, the more trending multirotor UAVs are extremely manoeuvrable but cannot be used for long-distance flights because of their slower speeds and relatively higher consumption of energy. This study proposed the implementation of hybrid VTOL UAV which has the manoeuvring advantage of a multirotor UAV while having the ability to travel fast to reach a further distance. The design methodology and fabrication method are discussed extensively which would be followed by a number of flight tests to prove the concept. The proposed UAV would be equipped with quadcopter motors and a horizontal thrust motor for vertical and horizontal flight modes respectively.</p