c



 
³Providing integrated consultation to MAV project
engineers at Eglin AFB´

Chris McGrath
Neil Graham
Alex von Oetinger
John Dascomb

Sponsor :
Dr. Gregg Abate

December 6, 2005
 OVERVIEW
ã Problem Statement
ã Design Specifications
ã Project Planning
ã Design Selection
ã Procedure for Design
ã Cost Analysis
ã Spring Proposal
ã Conclusion
 Problem Statement
ã To design a means of testing MAV flight
dynamics in an indoor facility
 Project Specs
ã Weight 100 ± 200 grams (g)
ã Flight Speed 0 ± 25 meters per second
(m/s)
ã Exterior Material Carbon Fiber Composite
ã Wing Tip Length 15 ± 30 centimeters (cm)
ã MAV Flight Control Both 2 and 3 axis
ã Type of Thrust Pusher, Puller, None
 Design Selection:
Free Flight Wind Tunnel
ã The free flight wind tunnel has been
successfully created before

ã Design is basically a conventional

wind tunnel modified to allow for
actual free flight of the test subject

ã Force balance achieved around

the center of gravity of the MAV,
essentially canceling out the
force from the incident wind
tunnel flow with the thrust of the
engine
 Project Planning
ã Final design analysis divided into 3 section:

± Tunnel geometry
ã Design of wind tunnel ducting
ã Selection of fan flow
ã Settling screen and honeycomb selection

± Instrumentation
ã Onboard measurement
ã Data collection/display

± MAV handling
ã Control and release of the MAV inside the tunnel
Project Planning:
Flow Chart
 Design Procedure
ã Design Procedure is broken down into five
main sections:
± Wind Tunnel Design
± Flow Quality
± Flow Fan
± Instrumentation
± MAV Handling
 Wind Tunnel Design
ã In wind tunnel design
Three properties are
most important to
consider:

± Test section Dimensions

± Flow quality

± Tunnel geometry
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Test section Dimensions
ã At its maximum area, wind
tunnel must be 6 times that of
the test section

ã The test section should give

ample area for the MAV to fly

ã For the minimum analysis of the

flight, the MAV needs to move
laterally or vertically twice its
wingspan
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Test section Dimensions (continued)

ã For the largest MAV (12´ wingspan) to be tested in tunnel

we would need 2 feet of flying area in any given direction
or roughly a 4ft x 4ft test section

ã When moving longitudinally against the flow we will allow

for 10ft of movement for the MAV
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Flow Quality
ã The quality of the flow for our
application is based on velocity
fluctuations in the direction of the
airflow

ã Need a flow quality that has velocity

fluctuations of less than 1% of the
free flow

ã Screens and a honeycomb are

implemented to take out the
rotational and velocity fluctuations
of the flow that form when the air
passes through the fan
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Flow Quality (Continued)
ã The most important factor to flow quality is the
contraction ratio

ã The larger the contraction ratio, the slower the air

flow is when it passes through the screens and
honeycomb

ã For a contraction ratio of 6, combined with the

screens and honeycomb, we can achieve a flow
quality of less than 1%
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Tunnel Geometry
ã Two different tunnel
Geometries are
explored

± Ideal wind tunnel

± Constrained wind
tunnel
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Tunnel Geometry ± Ideal tunnel
ã Larger tunnel overall

ã Utilizes full test section and

contraction ratio

ã Implements a 4.5*4.5 ft test

section to compensate for
Boundary phenomenon ( only
80% of area is usable)

ã Test section has length of 10 ft

 Wind Tunnel Design:
Tunnel Geometry ± Ideal tunnel (continued)
ã *ADD ADDITIONAL
INFO*
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Tunnel Geometry ± Constrained tunnel
ã Designed to fit inside the space
currently provided at Eglin AFB
(room measuring 40x30x15 ft )

ã Only aspect of the ideal tunnel

that is too large for the room is
the tunnel length

ã Need to shorten the tunnel by

21.3 ft
 Wind Tunnel Design:
Tunnel Geometry ± Constrained tunnel
(Continued)
ã *ADD ADDITIONAL
INFO*
 Flow Quality
ã Flow quality will be of
paramount importance
in tunnel design
Free Flight Diagram
 Wind Tunnel Geometry
ã Area required to fly 4 ft x 4 ft

ã Test section area is 4.5 ft x 4.5 ft

ã Test section length greater than 10 ft

 Wind Tunnel Geometry
ã Fan Specifications
± Mass flow rate: 60.8 kg/s

± Ideal power needed: 50 hp

± Diameter of fan: 7.1 ft

 Wind Tunnel Geometry
ã Final Expansion
± Final area is 8 times test section area
Wind Tunnel Geometry
 Tether System

ã Tether Location

ã Tether Restraint and Release System

ã Tether Reel
 Tether Location
ã Above and below MAV¶s center of mass
 Restraint and Release System
ã Tether Clamp
 Tension Reel
ã Miyamae's Command X
X--1
 Instrumentation
ã Onboard

ã Flow Measurement

ã Data Collection Software

 Onboard Instrumentation
ã Kestrel Autopilot
± 16.65 grams (2´ x 1.37´ x .47´)
± Three
Three--axis rate gyros
± Accelerometers
± Air pressure sensors
 Flow Measurement
ã Pitot
Pitot--Static Tube

ã Hot
Hot--Wire Anemometer
 Data Collection Software
ã Virtual Cockpit

ã Labview
 On--Going Activities
On
ã Source the Fan
ã Find manufacturer to produce settling
screens
ã Create Bill of Materials
ã Build Pro-
Pro-E model of system