Numerical Simulation of the Aerodynamics of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Abstract

The present work focuses on the aerodynamics of a solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (solar-powered UAV) by simulating the air flow with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The wing of the solar-powered UAV is based on S1223 airfoil. The calculation domain is performed on three dimensional polyhedral cell with steady and incompressible flow assumption at Reynolds number of 2x105. The model results show recirculation around the trailing edge of the wing root and the end of the tail. At zero angle of attack, the solar-powered UAV yields drag coefficient at 0.049, whereas the lift coefficient is 0.891 and moment coefficient is 0.224. E-