Structural and CFD Analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle by using COMSOL Multiphysics

• Main Authors: Manova MOSES, Guruprasaath SURESH
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” - INCAS 2021-09-01
• Series: INCAS Bulletin
• Subjects: uav; finite element analysis; cfd; topology optimization
• Online Access: https://bulletin.incas.ro/files/moses_suresh__vol_13_iss_3.pdf

The purpose of this article is to reduce the structural weight and drag of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone while increasing its endurance. To achieve a high strength to weight ratio, Finite Element Analysis is used to study the structural strength characteristics of UAV frames. A computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) is performed for different angles of attack and vehicle speeds to estimate the drag coefficient using the k-e turbulence model. The analysis results show that the designed UAV vehicle has excellent performance characteristics and stability at 5° AoA and 3 m/sec. This article outlines the overall design of the unmanned aerial vehicle, which was created using the CATIA V6 platform. COMSOL 5.6 software is used for structural and CFD analysis.