Analysis of an Active Aeroelastic Wing using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation and XFLR5

In the present study, the optimum wing and its aerodynamic performance investigation of an Active aeroelastic wing (AAW) structure for an unmanned aerial vehicle that operates at low subsonic speed is presented. AAW technology is a new design for UAV wing structures which ultimately increases its efficiency. The focus is mainly to design a seamless flexible wing structure. The shape changes made from root to tip wing twist enhance the aerodynamic performance of the UAV. Because of the shape change, the weight carrying capacity of the UAV can be increased. In the fluid domain, numerical analysis has been done for both the wings. The simulation was performed with max. velocity of 60 m/s and Reynolds number of 81300 based on incompressible Navier Stokes equations computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and vortex lattice approach in XFLR5. The investigation compares the AAW by changing its angle of twist with the normal wing by deflecting its flap. The final goal is to compare the AAW and normal wing computationally by varying their speed, to arrive the best lift based and drag based result for both the wings. Drag breakdown analysis on an AAW of UAV is done by using classical approach, XFLR5 and CFD aerodynamic coefficients estimation methods.