Design of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with a Mass-Actuated Control System

Abstract

Diseño de un UAV sin timones de dirección o profundidad, ni alerones

This thesis presents the analysis, design and evaluation of a blended-wing-body unmanned aerial vehicle with an innovative control system, without any aerodynamic ight-control surfaces. The aircraft has a system of movable masses which are the main component of the control system, since they can be actuated to alter the center of mass position on longitudinal and lateral axis. The main purpose of the control system is to provide static and dynamic stability throughout the ight envelope, maneuvers, and possible gusts. The main advantage of this implementation is an improvement on the performance, since drag can be considerably reduced during maneuvers. Also, maintenance cost can be reduced, since the mechanical components involved in the control system have less complexity and no expensive actuators are required. An advanced aerodynamic design for a ying-wing configuration is proposed, where the use of diverse airfoils has been applied, providing high effciency. From a structural point of view, the aircraft in overall is more robust, since only internal components are mobile. Throughout the thesis, both, analytic and numerical methods have been considered and applied for the design and verification. Regarding the testing of the control system implementation, different ight algorithms have been generated and a simulation for a dynamic case with a vertical gust has been done, with satisfying results.