A Novel Autonomous Vertical Take-Off and Landing Aircraft Using a Variable Thrust Control Vector and Morphing Wing Configuration System

Overview

Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has many real-world applications, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, search and rescue, while extending its fly range, speed, and endurance capabilities. The goal of this study is to build a novel autonomous UAV that can perform VTOL with low weight and high payload without launch and recovery infrastructure, which is typically needed for the current aerial systems. A four-propeller variable thrust vector control aircraft was modeled and developed for improved aerodynamic efficiency to reach desirable hover height before transitioning into level flight mode. The nonlinear dynamic ailerons on the counter-rotating propellers control the angular velocity of the vehicle during the transition between hover and fly modes to minimize external disturbances and achieve attitude stabilization. A smart guidance control system is developed to expand the folded wings during hover mode to achieve the greatest power reduction and a stable transition between fly modes. Extensive experiments showed a 20% flight endurance improvement, 33.5% payload improvement, and 30% power savings between with-variable-thrust- 65 vector control and without-variable-thrust-vector control. The results provide evidence that infrastructure less VTOL UAV systems can be deployed in remote areas or disaster zones with substantial power reduction and increased endurance.

Competition history

• JSHS 2023 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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