UAV NACA4415 Wing Structural Performance Analysis Subjected to External Aerodynamic Load Using Schrenk’s Approximation

Ernnie Illyani Basri; Adi Azriff Basri; Mohd. Firdaus Abas; Faizal Mustapha; Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan; Kamarul Arifin Ahmad

Authors

Ernnie Illyani Basri Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Adi Azriff Basri Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Mohd. Firdaus Abas Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Faizal Mustapha Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Kamarul Arifin Ahmad Department of Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Keywords:

Finite element, Schrenk’s approximation, NACA4415 airfoil, tubercles leading edge

Abstract

Structural analysis is widely used in the analysis of aircraft structures with the common application of the finite element method. The optimum structural design of aircraft wing is the crucial aspect in the performance of the aircraft considering the high stiffness-to-weight ratio and sustain maneuvering condition. In this study, the structural analysis is carried out on the two types of NACA4415 leading edge wing, namely conventional and tubercles. The analysis involves the combination of internal structures that contributed towards the optimization of increase the strength of the wing. Tubercles at the leading edge (TLE) wing commonly known for its superior aerodynamic performancein Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis. Whereas, Schrenk’s approximation method is used to estimate aerodynamic load acting on aircraft lifting surfaces by predicting lift distribution along wingspan. The structural static analysis is performed with the aid of computational finite element software, ANSYS 16.1 in order to determine stress and displacement distribution on the selected wing. Slight difference of both stress and displacement 0.4% and 0.1% as compared to conventional ones, thus proven that the design of TLE is acceptable for both aerodynamic and structural conditions. Hence, the result which showed that the composition of internal structures influences the strength of the wing in respect to the different pattern of leading edge.