Finite element analysis for composite wing structure of the maritime surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been widely utilized all over the world for either civil or military purposes. For civil purpose, UAV can be used for maritime surveillance to prevent illegal fishing happens in Indonesia. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the composite wing structure of the maritime surveillance UAV using finite element model. The load is assumed as static and distributed along semi span using Schrenk method. In finite element model, the wing is modeled using quad4 element and boundary condition used pin in the locations where bolts will be applied. Verification, validation and mesh convergence test take into account to obtain good results from finite element model application. The analysis is conducted with load factor of 3.8 and -1.52 which represent maximum and minimum load factor. Based on the results, the wing composite structure of the maritime surveillance UAV is safe because it has factor of safety of 1.66 for load factor 3.8 and 3.35 for load factor -1.52 based on Tsai-Wu failure criterion. Meanwhile displacement in y direction for load factor 3.8 and -1.52 are 97.1 mm and -38.8 mm respectively.