Design, fabrication and aerodynamic analysis of a remote- controlled small airship model

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

In this research, the design, fabrication, and aerodynamic analysis of a small remote-controlled airship are investigated. The airship must be capable of carrying a 2kg payload. In this research, the design of various parts of an airship such as envelope, gondola and tail has been investigated by using theoretical and empirical formulas. To check the accuracy of the design, digital datcom software was used to perform an analytical analysis as well as the fluent software to numerically evaluate the flow around the airship and calculate the forces and moments applied to it. The investigations were carried out at a free stream speed 15m / s and in the various angles of attack from -10 ° to 10 °. In the numerical study with fluent software, the unstructured grid and the   turbulence model were used. The results showed that the airship was well modeled in digital Datcom software. Also, at low angles of attack, the good agreement between fluent's data and digital Datcom's data is observed. Digital Datcom's data can be used to obtain aerodynamic coefficients during the design phase. At all angles of attack, the airship has static stability and at low angles of attack, it has the least stability and maximum maneuverability. The drag coefficient obtained from Digital Datcom has a significant difference with the Fluent and other references data. therefore, Digital Datcom cannot be predicted at design phases for the drag coefficient.

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References

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Journal of Aeronautical Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 1
June 2020
Pages 12-29

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  • Receive Date: 14 January 2021
  • Accept Date: 14 January 2021

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