Design and Computational Aerodynamic Analysis of the ANTRIX-X1R Airfoil for Low-Reynolds-Number Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Applications

This work presents the design and preliminary computational aerodynamic analysis of ANTRIX-X1R, a custom low-Reynolds-number airfoil developed for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. The airfoil geometry was generated using Class-Shape Transformation (CST) parameterization and evaluated using XFOIL v6.99 under viscous flow conditions at a Reynolds number of 1.0 × 10⁶ and Ncrit = 9.0. The study investigates key aerodynamic characteristics including lift coefficient, drag coefficient, lift-to-drag ratio, pitching moment behavior, and boundary-layer transition trends. The predicted results indicate a maximum lift-to-drag ratio of approximately 122.8, a minimum drag coefficient of approximately 0.00538, and a maximum lift coefficient of approximately 1.48 under the analyzed conditions. Comparative analysis with NACA 2412 and NACA 4412 airfoils is also presented. The results reported in this work are based on two-dimensional XFOIL simulations and should be considered preliminary. Further validation through higher-fidelity computational methods and experimental testing is recommended. This publication is intended to document the ANTRIX-X1R airfoil geometry and provide an initial aerodynamic assessment for future UAV design and research applications.