Structural integrity assessment and optimization of control surfaces in coaxial unmanned aerial vehicles: A case study of a micro coaxial UAV

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) play a pivotal role in modern society which requires lightweight yet robust structures to fulfill increasingly complex tasks. This study presents a cost-effective prototyping approach to assess the structural integrity of control surfaces within the innovative Coaxial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle version 3.0 (MCR UAV v3.0). Integrating a hybrid design with coaxial propulsion for vertical stabilization and yaw control, the MCR UAV v3.0 incorporates control surfaces (ailerons) to manage roll and pitch movements during flight. The design process relies on a comprehensive understanding of material mechanical properties, particularly polylactic acid (PLA) specimens fabricated via fused deposition modeling (FDM) with varying infill percentages and building angles. A novel fluid-structure interaction method is developed in order to analyze four control surface topologies: concave (A), optimized concave (B), convex (C), and optimized convex (D). Findings reveal that the optimized design significantly improves stress distribution in the fuselage-control surface interface while reducing aileron weight by approximately 70%. Subsequently, a functional UAV prototype incorporating optimized ailerons is manufactured. Flight tests affirm the efficacy of the ailerons in controlling roll and pitch motions. This work significantly contributes by introducing the novel MCR UAV v3.0 and conducting a comprehensive assessment of fuselage-control surface structural stability, offering insights into enhanced UAV design and performance for diverse applications.

Keywords:

• Micro unmanned aerial vehicle
• fused deposition modeling
• control surface
• mechanical properties

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research work was supported by the Office of Naval Research Global through the Grant No. N62909-20-1-2030.