Numerical Simulation of a Bird-Inspired UAV Which Turns Without a Tail Through Proverse Yaw.

Abstract

This study numerically explores a bird-inspired tail-less unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design which can turn through proverse yaw by using a bell-shaped spanload wing configuration. The research methodology consists of two phases. In the first phase, the objective is to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to validate that the bell-shaped spanload wing configuration produces proverse yaw, instead of adverse yaw, similar to other typical wing configurations. This allows the UAV to turn without a tail. The solver used is OpenFOAM and a special self-written routine is used to allow the grid to move together with the UAV, which has six degrees-of-freedom (6DOFs) to translate and rotate when its ailerons deflect after reaching steady motion. In the second phase, we investigate the effect of the sweep angle on the proverse yaw. Results show that proverse yaw is indeed produced due to the bell-shaped spanload wing configuration, as CFD simulation shows the UAV turning after aileron deflection. The effect of the sweep angle is more profound on the proverse yaw as simulations show that increasing the sweep angle by 10° increases the turning effect slightly, but decreasing it by 10° instead results in adverse yaw. These findings will have important implications for improving aircraft efficiencies and the development of wing designs.