Aerodynamic Studies of Micro Air Vehicles

Abstract

The program at Arizona State University (ASU) consisted of complementary experimental, computational, and flight-test elements that examined the aerodynamics of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). All these components supported the actual design of our MAV, called MAVRIC (Micro Aerial Vehicle Research Initiative and Competition) and which competed for two years against other university teams. MAVs are characterized by low operating chord Reynolds numbers and thus present challenges in viscous aerodynamics. Our studies focused on the effects on performance of different wing-body-juncture and wing-tip designs. MAV aerodynamics is strongly affected by the wing-tip vortices which extend over a significant amount of span. Blending the wing and fuselage and adding winglets provided a reduction in the extent of these vortices as well as a refocusing of them away from the lifting surface.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 20, 2001
Accession Number
ADA399230

Entities

People

  • Helen L. Reed
  • William S. Saric

Organizations

  • Arizona State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aerodynamics
  • Aircrafts
  • Airfoils
  • Airframes
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Reynolds Number
  • Tilt Wings
  • Two Dimensional
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Research Science/Academic Research