Research on the Effect Characteristics of Free-Tail Layout Parameters on Tail-Sitter VTOL UAVs

Hao Qi, Shi-Jie Cao, Jia-Yue Wu, Yi-Ming Peng, Hong Nie and Xiao-Hui Wei ()
Additional contact information
Hao Qi: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Shi-Jie Cao: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Jia-Yue Wu: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Yi-Ming Peng: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Hong Nie: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
Xiao-Hui Wei: State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: The tail-sitter VTOL UAV boasts not only high-speed cruising and air hovering capabilities, but also its unique tail-sitting vertical takeoff and landing and hovering attitude enable aerial operations with an exceptionally small cross-sectional area. This feature effectively broadens the scope of application for the UAV in intelligent agriculture, encompassing tasks such as agricultural inspection, production monitoring, and topographic mapping. Given the necessity for frequent modal transitions, this paper is grounded in a thorough examination of the typical structural characteristics of the tail-sitter VTOL UAV. A comprehensive technical solution for tail-sitter VTOL UAVs, based on the free-tail configuration, is proposed in this paper. The free-tail structure is utilized to address the limitations of traditional tailless layout and fixed landing gear in terms of flight stability and takeoff/landing performance of tail-sitter VTOL UAVs. However, the implementation of this solution necessitates the addition of a new maneuvering unit. Consequently, this paper delves into the aerodynamic coupling characteristics and laws between the layout parameters such as tail number, tail length, and tail area and the tail-sitter VTOL UAV fuselage. To optimize the free-tail configuration, a multi-objective optimization is performed by integrating the overall UAV dynamics, landing dynamics, and modal transition trajectory constraints. The results of stability modeling simulations and flight tests demonstrate that the tail-sitter VTOL UAV equipped with this technical solution exhibits enhanced maneuverability and flight efficiency compared to the conventional tailless layout.

Keywords: tail-sitter; VTOL; UAV; landing gear; free-tail; CFD; pneumatic layout (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/3/472/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/3/472/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:3:p:472-:d:1357540

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().