Yung-Gyo Lee

Computational Analysis of the Aerodynamic Performance of a Long-Endurance UAV

This paper presents the computational aerodynamic analysis of a long-endurance UAV that was developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), named EAV-2. EAV-2 is a technical demonstrator of aerodynamically efficient design, as well as a hybrid electric-propulsion system for future long-endurance UAVs. We evaluated the aerodynamic characteristics of six low-Reynolds number airfoils, using a panel method code, XFOIL, to select an optimal airfoil for the long-endurance mission of EAV-2. The computational results by a CFD code, FLUENT, suggested that the aerodynamic performance of EAV-2 would be notably improved after adopting SG6043 airfoil, and modifying the fuselage design. This reduced the total drag by 43%, compared to that of a previous KARI model, EAV-1, at the target lift of CL=1.0. Also, we achieved a drag reduction of approximately 14% by means of the low-drag fuselage configuration.

Aerodynamic Design of the Solar-Powered High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is developing an electric-driven HALE UAV in order to secure system and operational technologies since 2010. Based on the flight tests and design experiences of the previously developed electricdriven UAVs, KARI has designed EAV-3, a solar-powered HALE UAV. EAV-3 weighs 53kg, the structure weight is 22kg, and features a flexible wing of 19.5m in span with the aspect ratio of 17.4. Designing the main wing and empennage of the EAV-3 the amount of the bending due to the flexible wing, 404mm at 1-G flight condition based on T-800 composite material, and side wind effects due to low cruise speed, Vcr = 6m/sec, are carefully considered. Also, unlike the general aircraft there is no center of gravity shift during the flight because of the EAV-3 is the solar-electric driven UAV. Thus, static margin cuts down to 28.4% and center of gravity moves back to 31% of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) comparing with the previously designed the EAV-2 and EAV-2H/2H+ to upgrade the flight performance of the EAV-3.

Drag Reduction Design for a Long-endurance Electric Powered UAV

This study presents computational analyses for low-drag aerodynamic design that are applied to modify a long-endurance UAV. EAV-2 is a test-bed for a hybrid electric power system (fuel cell and solar cell) that was developed by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) for use in future long-endurance UAVs. The computational investigation focuses on designing a wing with a reduced drag since this is the main contributor of the aerodynamic drag. The airfoil and wing aspect ratio of the least drag are defined, the fuselage configuration is modified, and raked wingtips are implemented to further reduce the profile and induced drag of EAV-2. The results indicate that the total drag was reduced by 54% relative to EAV-1, which was a small-sized version that was previously developed. In addition, static stabilities can be achieved in the longitudinal and lateral-directional by this low-drag configuration. A long-endurance flight test of 22 hours proves that the low-drag design for EAV-2 is effective and that the average power consumption is lower than the objective cruise power of 200 Watts.

Performance Evaluation of Propeller for High Altitude by using Experiment and Computational Analysis

Wind tunnel experiment and computational analysis have been carried out to evaluate the performance of propeller for scale electric-powered HALE UAV, named EAV-2H+. Performance curves are measured for three propellers and their adequacy for EAV-2H+ installation is examined through consideration of operating conditions. Decline in performance coefficients is observed in low rpm region. Also, the effect of transition tape on propeller performance is measured and analyzed. The computational performance analyses are carried out by using commercial CFD program. The thrust and power coefficient from computations show good agreement with experimental results. Performance coefficients are compared and the influence of measurement device which contributes to discrepancy of the results is examined. Transition SST model is confirmed to yield the tendency of performance decline in low rpm range, similar to experimental observation. The decrease in aerodynamic performance of blade element due to low Reynolds number is identified to cause the decline in propeller performance. Analyses for high altitude conditions confirms degradation in propeller performance.

Aerodynamic Design of the KARI Mid-sized Aerostat

Aerodynamic shape design of the Mid-sized Aerostat was performed with computational fluid dynamics. Design procedure included determination of hull volume and length, hull shape, tailfin configuration with anhedral and location, tailfin section. For aerodynamic analysis, three dimensional Navier-Stokes equations were applied with Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. During design procedure, static moment derivatives were mainly considered for the stability of aerostat and structural limitations were also considered for practical application of the designed shape. Aerodynamic analysis of the designed aerostat was carried out and aerodynamic characteristics were compared with those of the TCOM 71m aerostat, one of the most successful commercial aerostats. It was found that the designed KARI Mid-sized Aerostat had better stability characteristics compared to the TCOM 71m aerostat.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Propeller for Solar-Powered High-Altitude Long-Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Design, wind tunnel test, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, and flight test data analysis are conducted for the propeller of EAV-3, which is a solar-powered high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute. The blade element momentum theory, in conjunction with minimum induced loss, is used as a basic design method. Airfoil data are obtained from CFD analysis, which takes into account the low Reynolds number effect. The response surface is evaluated for design variables by using design of experiment and kriging metamodel. The optimization is based on desirability function. A wind tunnel test is conducted on the designed propeller. Numerical analyses are performed by using a commercial CFD code, and results are compared with those obtained from the design code and wind tunnel test data. Flight test data are analyzed based on several approximations and assumptions. The propeller performance is in good agreement with the numerical and measurement data in terms of tendency and behavior. The comparison of data confirms that the design method, wind tunnel test, and CFD analysis used in this study are practically useful and valid for the development of a high-altitude propeller.

Design and Performance Analysis of Propeller for Solar-powered HALE UAV EAV-3

Design and performance analysis of propeller for solar-powered HALE UAV, EAV-3 are conducted. Experiment points of design variables are obtained by using Design of Experiment(DOE) and Kriging meta-model is generated for objective and constraints function. The geometry of propeller is designed by evaluating the response surface with requirement and restrictions. The validity of the design is verified by meta-model based optimization. Computational analyses are carried out by using commercial CFD code and the results are compared with those from a design code and wind tunnel test. The results showed good agreement with predictions of the design code at the design altitude. Also, it is confirmed that the blockage effect due to the measurement device and support strut is included in the test data and the results including this effect compare well with the test data.

Developing High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Aerodynamics Team Abstract : Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is developing an electric-driven HALE UAV in order to secure system and operational technologies since 2010. Based on the 5 years of flight tests and design experiences of the previously developed electric-driven UAVs, KARI has designed EAV-3, a solar-powered HALE UAV. EAV-3 weighs 53 kg, the structure weight is 21 kg, and features a flexible wing of 19.5 m in span with the aspect ratio of 17.4. Designing the main wing and empennage of the EAV-3 the amount of the bending due to the flexible wing, 404 mm at 1-G flight condition based on T-800 composite material, and side wind effects due to low cruise speed, V_cr = 6 m/sec, are carefully considered. Also, unlike the general aircraft there is no center of gravity shift during the flight. Thus, the static margin cuts down to 28.4% and center of gravity moves back to 31% of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) comparing to the previously developed scale-down HALE UAVs, EAV-2 and EAV-2H, to minimize a trim drag and enhance a performance of the EAV-3. The first flight of the EAV-3 has successfully conducted on the July 29, 2015 and the test flight above the altitude 14 km has efficiently achieved on the August 5, 2015 at the Goheung aviation center. Key Words : HALE, UAV, Solar-powered, Flexible wing, Side wind, Stability, Static Margin

Wing Design Optimization for a Long-Endurance UAV using FSI Analysis and the Kriging Method

In this study, wing design optimization for long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is investigated. The fluid-structure integration (FSI) analysis is carried out to simulate the aeroelastic characteristics of a high-aspect ratio wing for a long-endurance UAV. High-fidelity computational codes, FLUENT and DIAMOND/IPSAP, are employed for the loose coupling FSI optimization. In addition, this optimization procedure is improved by adopting the design of experiment (DOE) and Kriging model. A design optimization tool, PIAnO, integrates with an in-house codes, CAE simulation and an optimization process for generating the wing geometry/computational mesh, transferring information, and finding the optimum solution. The goal of this optimization is to find the best high-aspect ratio wing shape that generates minimum drag at a cruise condition of C L = 1.0. The result shows that the optimal wing shape produced 5.95 % less drag compared to the initial wing shape.

Aerodynamic Damping Analysis of a Vane-type Multi-Function Air Data Probe

Configuration design, analysis, and wind tunnel test of a vane-type multi-function air data probe (MFP) was described. First, numerical analysis was conducted for the initial configuration of the MFP in order to investigate aerodynamic characteristics. Then, the design was modified to improve static and dynamic stability for better response characteristics. The modified configuration design was verified through wind tunnel tests. The test results are also used to verify the accuracy of the analytical method. The analytically estimated aerodynamic damping provided by the Navier-Stokes equation solver correlated well with the wind tunnel test results. According to the calculation, the damping coefficient estimated from ramp motion analysis yielded a better correlation with the wind tunnel test than pitch oscillation analysis.