DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STORM RESEARCH UAS By ALYSSA SHEARON AVERY Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK 2013 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE May, 2015 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STORM RESEARCH UAS Thesis Approved: Dr. Jamey Jacob Thesis Adviser Dr. Andrew Arena Dr. James Kidd . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would to acknowledge helpful discussions with the following experts in the field: Dr. Steve Koch, Director of the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory; Steven Piltz, Meteorologist in Charge of the Tulsa Weather Forecast Office; Gary England, Meteorologist-in- Residence at the University of Oklahoma; Prof. Brian Argrow of the University of Colorado at Boulder; Dr. Phil Chilson of the University of Oklahoma; and Emily Sutton, Meteorologist at KFOR. I would like also to thank Dr. Jamey Jacob for integral direction and assistance throughout the project. For assisting in the build of the aircraft I would like to thank Calvin Brown, Jake Hathaway, Shea Fehrenbach, Zach Barbeau, and Nathan Avery. I would also like to acknowledge the generous support of Ray and Linda Booker. iii Name: Alyssa Shearon Avery Date of Degree: MAY 2015 Title of Study: DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A STORM RESEARCH UAS Major Field: MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING ABSTRACT: A small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) was designed and developed to be utilized for meteorological data collection, specifically information useful for severe storm and tornado prediction. The system will operate prior to and during severe weather in order to minimize current knowledge gaps with respect to severe storms. This aircraft was developed to maximize the useful data collection while retaining the operational simplicity required of a tool used in an unpredictable environment. The aircraft design is capable of collecting in-situ atmospheric and IR thermodynamic data continuously in flight and deploying sensor packages, dropsondes, at vital locations. The airframe was built, has undergone initial testing, and will be integrated into an operational system in future work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Motivation .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................................ 4 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Weather Sensor Systems ........................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Weather Platforms ................................................................................................................. 7 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 13 3.1 Mission Development .......................................................................................................... 13 3.2 Payload Design .................................................................................................................... 20 3.3 Sizing and Configuration ..................................................................................................... 25 DETAILED DESIGN .................................................................................................................... 29 4.1 Aerodynamics ...................................................................................................................... 29 4.1.1 Sizing ............................................................................................................................ 29 4.1.2 Stability ......................................................................................................................... 37 4.2 Propulsion System ............................................................................................................... 42 4.2.1 Reciprocating Engines .................................................................................................. 45 4.2.2 Electric Motors .............................................................................................................. 48 4.3 Structure ............................................................................................................................... 51 4.3.1 Loads ............................................................................................................................. 51 4.3.2 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 53 v 4.3.3 Analysis......................................................................................................................... 54 AIRFRAME BUILD ...................................................................................................................... 61 5.1 Manufacturing Process, MARIA I Build ............................................................................. 61 5.2 MARIA II Build ................................................................................................................... 65 TESTING AND RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 70 6.1 X-Plane Simulation .............................................................................................................. 70 6.2 Ground Tests ........................................................................................................................ 74 6.2.1 Taxi Testing .................................................................................................................. 74 6.2.2 Motor Testing ................................................................................................................ 76 6.3 Structural Testing ................................................................................................................. 78 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 82 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 84 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 86 Airfoil Data ............................................................................................................................ 86 Stability Analysis ................................................................................................................... 88 Structural Analysis ................................................................................................................. 96 Drag Analysis....................................................................................................................... 100 Solidworks FEA ................................................................................................................... 101 X-Plane Model Characteristics ............................................................................................ 103 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: Reference UAS and parameter sample ............................................................................ 12 Table 2: Requirements for a storm research UAS ......................................................................... 18 Table 3: Initial performance goals ................................................................................................. 19 Table 4: Mission plans for supercell research23 ............................................................................. 20 Table 5: Sensor Details .................................................................................................................. 23 Table 6: Weight estimation method ............................................................................................... 26 Table 7: Configurations ................................................................................................................. 27 Table 8: Final Sizing ...................................................................................................................... 34 Table 9: Parameters for Static Stability ......................................................................................... 38 Table 10: Summary of the predicted parasite drag from the aircraft