Diseño de un mecanismo rígido-elástico para perfiles aerodinámicos de geometría variable con aplicación en vehículos aéreos no tripulados considerando los requerimientos de misión y transformación.

Abstract

This work presents the design and optimization of a mechanism for the geometric transformation of aerodynamic profiles in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), considering mission and transformation requirements. A new mechanism has been developed that combines the durability, structural stability, and mechanical efficiency of articulated mechanisms with the simplicity, reduced weight, and precise movement of elastic mechanisms. Additionally, a multidisciplinary approach is introduced that couples the disciplines of aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, evaluating the Fluid-Structure interaction. An open-source environment implemented in the Python language and executed on Linux OS has been developed. It consists of an aerodynamic solver based on the panel method, a finite element solver to evaluate the elastic behavior of the mechanism, and a parameterization and geometric manipulation module. These components have been coupled into routines for aerodynamic optimization, fluid-structure interaction, and multidisciplinary optimization. For aerodynamic optimization, a gradient-based algorithm (SLSQP) has been used. Finally, optimal aerodynamic profiles have been determined, reducing the drag coefficient (Cd) by up to 20% in a single operating condition, and by up to 13% considering multiple operating points simultaneously. The importance of fluid-structure interaction in the design of the mechanism and the utility of multidisciplinary optimization in adequately modeling the physical behavior of the mechanism and meeting constraints from other disciplines such as manufacturing and flight performance is highlighted, avoiding infeasible solutions generated by single-discipline optimization.