A Comparative Aerodynamic Performance Analysis of Fixed-Wing UAVs NACA0015 and NACA2415

Airfoil camber is a critical geometric parameter affecting aerodynamic characteristics, which directly determines the aerodynamic performance of aircraft. In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles have been widely applied in various fields, and cargo Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are expected to become mainstream equipment for freight transportation. NACA0015 and NACA2415 are two airfoils with great potential for cargo UAV design. In this work, NACA2415 and NACA0015 are chosen as research cases. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method based on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations and the SST k-ω turbulence model is used to perform numerical simulations and aerodynamic comparisons within the angle-of-attack range of 0° to 24°. The simulation results demonstrate that the NACA2415 airfoil achieves a higher lift coefficient and superior stall resistance at low angles of attack. Compared with NACA0015, NACA2415 is more suitable for fixed-wing cargo UAVs. Furthermore, this study reveals that airfoils with larger camber can generate higher lift under low angle-of-attack conditions.