Study on the extraction of aerodynamic coefficients for the development of an UAV simulator using the unsteady time-domain panel method

Abstract

For the development of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) simulator, an aerodynamic analysis was performed. To analyze the aerodynamic coefficient, an unsteady numerical method (time-domain panel method) was used. This panel method was based on the Dirichlet boundary condition coupled with a time-stepping method. The Free Wake method was also used to get more accurate results. The proposed numerical method was validated by comparing our results with experimental data. Through the aerodynamic analysis, longitudinal, lateral, directional and dynamic derivatives were obtained. To build the database for the UAV, the results were predicted rationally. This research will contribute to designing UAVs as well as to developing UAV simulators. © 2014 The Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences.