MATEC Web of Conferences 159, 02045 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815902045 IJCAET & ISAMPE 2017
Design of a Low-Cost Fixed Wing UAV �
Mochammad Ariyanto*, Joga D. Setiawan, Teguh Prabowo, Ismoyo Haryanto, Munadi Department of Mechanical Engineering, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
Abstract. This research will try to design a low cost of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using low-cost material that able to fly autonomously. Six parameters of UAV’s structure will be optimized based on basic airframe configuration, wing configuration, straight wing, tail configuration, fuselage material, and propeller location. The resulted and manufactured prototype of fixed-wing UAV will be tested in autonomous fight tests. Based on the flight test, the developed UAV can successfully fly autonomously following the trajectory command. The result shows that low-cost material can be used as a body part of fixed- wing UAV.
1 Introduction Recently utilization of Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has grown significantly especially for fixed wing and rotary wing type. The UAV is controlled by the pilot (operator) in the ground control station. UAV can fly autonomously based on programmed flight plans into the flight controller board. Many users/hobbyist build fixed- wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) by themselves, they have to design, calculate aerodynamic performance, and manufacture the UAV by themselves. Furthermore, they have to decide which mechanical and electrical components needed in order to build the UAV that can perform as intended. Building UAV is cheaper than buying factory-built UAV. Design and manufacture of UAV require design process, manufacturing, and numerous flight tests until the UAV has good tracking performance both in manual and autonomous flight. This research will focus on the design optimization of six parameters to achieve low cost and easy to manufacture fixed-wing UAV. The parameters are basic airframe configuration, wing configuration, straight wing, tail configuration, fuselage material, and propeller location. The selection of structural configuration and material of the UAV is presented in section 2. The fixed-wing UAV is equipped with available commercial flight controller board. After the prototype is built, it will be tested to fly autonomously following the predefined trajectory.
2 UAV Fixed Wing Design In this section, six design configuration structures will be considered i.e., basic airframe configuration, wing configuration, straight wing, tail configuration, fuselage material, and propeller location. Three basic airframe configurations are considered. There are four
* Corresponding author: [email protected]
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). MATEC Web of Conferences 159, 02045 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815902045 IJCAET & ISAMPE 2017
things to consider, namely the ease of manufacturing process, stability, ease of hand launch, and mass. Table 1 shows the comparison between the three basic airframe configurations, where configuration five is the best, and configuration one is the worst. In the conventional configuration, horizontal tail is at the back of the fuselage. Horizontal tail and vertical tail can be attached to each other. The back of the fuselage can be simplified in the form of an aluminum rod to reduce the weight of the system. Because of the aluminum rod, horizontal tail and vertical tail can be fitted strongly enough without the need for a special cradle, just by using a clamp. � Table 1. Comparison of basic airframe configuration.
Design Parameters Weight Conventional Canard Flying Wing