Gust Modeling with State-of-the-Art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Software and Its Influence on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Michał Frant, Stanisław Kachel and Wojciech Maślanka ()
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Michał Frant: Faculty of Mechatronics, Armament and Aerospace, Military University of Technology, No. 2 Kaliskiego Street, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland
Stanisław Kachel: Faculty of Mechatronics, Armament and Aerospace, Military University of Technology, No. 2 Kaliskiego Street, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland
Wojciech Maślanka: Doctoral School, Military University of Technology, No. 2 Kaliskiego Street, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: The aim of this article is to propose methods for obtaining the aerodynamic characteristics of a flying object in a turbulent atmosphere. This article presents static aerodynamic characteristics of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which have been obtained during experimental examinations and during numerical calculations. The results have been compared with each other in order to validate the numerical model and methods. The method for modeling gusts using state-of-the-art CFD software (i.e., ANSYS Fluent Release 16.2) has been proposed and applied to obtain the aerodynamic characteristics of a UAV including during gusts. Two cases have been analyzed. In the first case, a downburst was modeled. In the second case, a single oblique gust was modeled (i.e., changing the angle of attack and the angle of sideslip), that had a complicated time course in regard to its velocity. Although this article is focused on the assessment of the vulnerability of a UAV model to gusts, the practical implications of the proposed methodology are applicable to a wide selection of objects, including wind turbines.

Keywords: aerodynamics; computational fluid dynamics; unmanned aerial vehicle; gusts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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