Design and manufacturing of a surveying unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The aim of this project is to design and fabricate a surveying UAV. The UAV is to be used in Community Based Land Monitoring (CBLM) and deals with the observation, aerial photography and 3D modeling of vast areas of land for different environmental purposes. A background research was first done in order to investigate the missions required for the UAV to accomplish and to have an idea about current UAVs available in the market and used in similar applications. After preliminary calculations and research, a first design was obtained and composite materials were chosen to be used in the manufacturing process. The initial design was followed by simulations using CFD and finite element analysis using ANSYS and SimXpert in order to guarantee the required lift of 50.56 N and investigate the operation of the UAV under flight conditions and optimize the design accordingly. A composite structure made of polystyrene foam layered with a mixture of fiberglass/epoxy was used as the main building material providing high strength and lightweight result. Once the fabrication process was complete, it was followed by the selection of the needed electrical equipment for the control and operation of the UAV. The purpose was to achieve long range monitoring with an endurance of 40 minutes as minimum duration in a worst case scenario. Once the assembly was done, the UAV was ready to undergo flight tests in which the performance was studied and future improvements and optimizations were concluded and discussed. The first flight taste was successful and the aircraft flew for a short period of time. This allowed the team to identify the main problem that needs a fix in the future design which is the motor incidence. Once the fix is done, the aircraft is expected to perform according to the planned requirements.