Micro Air Vehicle: Technology Review and Design Study

This paper presents the technology review and design study now carrying-out at UTM on the micro air vehicles (MAVs). There are several existing MAVs in the market with various configurations and built for a designated function. These vehicles may carry visual, acoustic, chemical or biological sensors for such missions as traffic management, hostage situation surveillance, rescue operations and a few more. In this report, all existing technology for MAV airframes and systems was reviewed. After reviewing all the configurations, the concept of rotary wing MAV was selected for our design study. The concept was selected mainly due to its stability during manoeuvres. The components selection and system integration required for building the MAV were also discussed. The components were arranged in such a way that the centre of gravity of the MAV is located at the centreline of the body. This is to stabilise the vehicle statically and dynamically

Control of vibrational power input to semi-infinite anisotropic beam

A computational method has been developed to realize an efficient and accurate user friendly computational program called RocketCalculator, which integrates carefully assessed methodologies and offer flexibilities of the rocket configurations and velocities up to Mach number 3.0 and angle of attack of 25 degrees. The RocketCalculator is capable of analyzing the configurations of wing-alone, bodyalone, wing-body combination, and wing-body-tail combination of rocket. USAF Datcom Method has been chosen as the analysis method and the programming language is Microsoft Visual Basic. The result would be displayed in form of the corresponding lift (CL ), normal force (CN ) and drag (CD ) coefficients at certain Mach number and angle of attack. Experimented data for several models have been taken out from available sources to validate the program output. Comparisons of the program output and experimental results generally show good agreement with average error of less than 10

Conceptual design of UTM 4-seater helicopter

This paper describes the conceptual design of the first UTM's 4-seater helicopter. The vehicle is in lighthelicopter category and will be powered by piston engine. Parametrics study is used to identify the initial specification in order to initiate the preliminary design of the helicopter. The design process was carried-out in accordance with the FAR Part 27 standard

Static and dynamic balancing of helicopter tail rotor blade using two-plane balancing method

Balancing is a rotating component is critical in any mechanism. Devoid of proper balancing, any vehicle-be it in air, land or sea, it will affect stability, control and safety. The same goes for rotor crafts. Imbalance of the helicopter tail rotor system leads to vibrations in the entire vehicle and may cause accident. Typically, for the tail rotor of a helicopter, the blade is a source of vibration on the tail boom. This not only causes inconvenience to the pilot but also reduces the life span of the helicopter. There is a certain amount of vibration in the helicopter rotor systems especially the tail rotor. Hence, balancing procedure for rotating mass was conducted to reduce the vibration. This research focuses on balancing of the tail rotor for UTM Single Seat Helicopter. Experiments have been conducted in order to study the vibration level of the tail rotor. Adding and removing masses separately on the tail rotor exhibited different vibration levels. The responses were analyzed and used for balancing the tail of rotor system. The balancing effort was considered successful, although there was still some residual unbalance in the tail rotor

A case study on the air flow characteristics of the hirobo-FALCON 505 controllable helicopter's main rotor blade

The aerodynamics of the helicopter rotor is one of the most elating and exigent tribulations faced by the aerodynamicists today. Study through flow visualization process plays a key role in understanding the airflow distinctiveness and vortex interaction of the helicopter main rotor blade. Inspecting and scrutinizing the effects of wake vortices during operation is a great challenge and imperative in designing effective rotor system. This study aimed to visualize the main rotor airflow pattern of the Hirobo-FALCON 505 controllable subscale helicopter and seek for the vortex flow at the blade tip. The experimental qualitative data is correlated with quantitative data to perform scrupulous study on the airflow behavior and characteristics along with its distinctiveness spawned by the main rotor blade. Simulation using design software is performed in analogous stipulations to endow with comparability between the flow visualization results. Throughout the blade span several dissimilar flow patterns have been identified. The main rotor hub has turbulent flow at its center due to low energy of air amassed in this region whereas in the middle portion of the rotor blade, the air encompasses high kinetic energy with a clear straight streamline pattern

Structural analysis of UTM single-seat helicopter chassis

Structural strength is just as important as any other measures for a performance vehicle - let it be in air, land or water. Chassis is the most critical constituent in keeping the integrity of a vehicular structure. Likewise, helicopter chassis is like its skeleton. Devoid of it, the helicopter will neither take shape nor conserve the structural strength necessary. This research took the liberty of appraising the structural stiffness of the chassis for UTM Single-Seat Helicopter which is being developed at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). This helicopter uses space frames as the main chassis structure. The material used for this chassis is AISI 4130 steel. Static analysis of the chassis was conducted specifically during hovering condition. The analysis started with modelling and simulating the chassis using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software. Data obtained through FEA simulation were then tested and verified using the experimental data. The results obtained were intriguing and in line with the FAA standard Regulation

Wind tunnel test on generic agusta-bell 206b helicopter tail rotor blades

A low speed wind tunnel test was conducted for a full-scaled generic model of Agusta-Bell 206B helicopter tail rotor blades in the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia-Low Speed Tunnel (UTM- LST). The purpose of this paper is to conduct the experimental research for gaining information on general aerodynamics and performance characteristics of tail rotor blades. The lift and drag coefficients are examined in order to explore aerodynamic characteristics of the tail rotor blades. The present results may be useful to understand general aerodynamic characteristics and will be used in validation of the Quasi-Continuous Method (QCM) in the future

Design and structural analysis of a quadrotor

This paper summarizes the design works and structural analysis that have been carried out on a single-seat electrical powered quadrotor or quadcopter as it is sometimes known. Using SolidWorks software, a number of designs were successfully developed by reverse engineering technique of the FURIA helicopter’s design. The critical components of the selected design were analyzed using ABAQUS software for the static and dynamic loadings. Subsequently, the analyses provide a means of proposing a lightweight design efficaciously but yet strong enough to sustain the applied loads. As for the suspension system, the analysis was done through MATLAB and the best values for the spring constant, k and the damping coefficient, c to be used in this quadrotor system have been successfully quantified