Summary of Initial Design Ideas

During our brainstorming sessions and throughout the research and development of this project, we have come up with many possible design ideas. These ideas are listed below.

• Router on the UAV to bring Wi-Fi to people in need

• Dropping a communication device like a handheld transceiver to be able to contact people in need

• Vertical Takeoff and Landing system implemented into the aerial vehicle

• 360-degree view camera

• VR Headset Compatibility

• iOS / Android Application Compatibility

• Wings that come out of the fuselage after being thrown into the air

• Blended wing design

• Traditional Straight wing design

• V-Tail Configuration

• Traditional Vertical and Horizontal Stabilizer tail

• Push / Pull Propeller

Assessment Plan

This a breakdown of how we are going to test the different components of our aircraft. It is important to test the efficacy to ensure that we are creating a product that fulfills our goals and objectives

The first step in our design process was to design and validate a good airfoil design. Our team started by stratifying 3 major airfoil concepts. By using existing data we put it into a decision matrix to decide the correct airfoil based upon our metrics needs.

After we selected an airfoil concept we used Airfoils tool to develop an airfoil. The airfoil was imported to Solidworks and made into a surface. This was then used in Ansys Fluent 2D CFD (Computational-Fluid Dynamics) simulation. This gave us a simulation of air moving over what would be the wings to get an idea of flight characteristics. Key data from this simulation was lift and drag coefficients, velocity, and pressure. By using this information we can know if the airplane is going to fly or not (specifically if the lift coefficient is greater than the drag coefficient). We also expected to have a lower velocity at the bottom of the airfoil which in turn makes for a higher pressure which produces the lift. From the data, we made the necessary changes to the design of the airfoil until we have an effective ratio for a properly flying aircraft.

After our airfoil design satisfies our simulations we 3D printed a small section of the airfoil to be used one of FIU's small-scale subsonic wind tunnels. This is useful because it will validate our CFD simulation as the wind tunnel is a more accurate representation of what could happen in real life. If the results are unfavorable, we will find out why there was a significant difference in the CFD, use that to revalidate our simulations, fix our design, run the CFD again, and if successful, retest in the wind tunnel. If the wind tunnel results are favorable, we will proceed onto wing design.

After our airfoil design is finalized we will then proceed to selecting tail configurations. Major types of tail configurations include: Horizontal and vertical stabilizers for the tail, "V-tail" configuration, delta wing, and blended wing. Our priority for selecting the configuration is flight characteristics. One of our main goals is for the aircraft to be relatively easy to fly and have forgiving stall characteristics. We will assess tail configurations by using existing data such as angle of attack, and pressure distribution. This can give us a glimpse of what stall characteristics will be like. Ideally we want to design an aircraft that has a low tendency to tip-stall, because a spin is more likely to happen which can be difficult to recover from .

By using our finalized airfoil, we will design the horizontal stabilizers. After we design them, we will split the model using only the left or right side of the stabilizer for a 3D Ansys Fluent CFD simulation. We only need one half because they are identical and the simulation will run faster. After the simulation completes we will study the data and see where we can make improvements, such as the wingspan and orientations of the trailing and leading edge. After several iterations of designs and simulations we will finalize the design when we feel we have achieved sufficient performance. This concludes the aerodynamic validation before manufacturing.

The next round of efficacy testing will comprise of static structural testing of the aerodynamic surfaces. The importance of this is to see if our airframe is strong enough to withstand the forces during flight. We can analyze this in Ansys Static Structural simulation by experimenting with different materials, and getting vital data, such as factor of safety, stress-strain, and possible deformations which lets us know if we have safely designed the aircraft structures. From this data we will use a decision matrix to select a material and geometrical configuration to select for our aircraft, with emphasis on minimizing mass with sufficient strength. At this stage all simulations are completed with designs finalized and validated from these test.

The next stage in efficacy testing is the actual testing of the aircraft. A series of test flights will happen in the second half of the Fall 2022 semester, after the aircraft has completed manufacturing. The aircraft will be tested at Makrham Park Model Airfield in Sunrise, Florida. We have chosen this location because it is an "AMA"(Academy of Model Aeronautics) sanctioned field. The field has a 755 foot paved runway with a large grass field, clear of many obstacles. The weather conditions we would like to test for is during the day with wind speeds up to 5 mph and gusting at a maximum of 10 mph. It is important to test the aircraft in lower wind speed conditions like this to reduce the chance of a crash, especially when the pilot is unfamiliar with any "bad habits" the aircraft may have. We would The test flights will collect a significant amount of information such as: speed, flight time, battery cell voltage trends, landing gear strength, stall characteristics, yaw tendencies, and more. Some methods of data collection including a flight data recorder, which can track the transmitter inputs, speed, roll, pitch, and yaw angles, speeds. After every flight the aircraft will be inspected, specifically control linkages, any damage, and the structural integrity of the airframe and landing gear. We would at least like to do 10 flights with weather permitting to collect as much data as possible and test for reliability and strength. After the test session the team will debrief noting what went well, and what needs to be improved. For the issues that we encounter, we will create a plan to find the root cause of the issue and implement an effective solution.