Experimental Studies on a Propelled Micro Air Vehicle

An experimental study has been carried out on a typical Micro Air Vehicle of span 300mm having inverse Zimmerman planform. The objective is to get i) the aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle in the range of incidence and sideslip angle the vehicle expected to encounter during its flight; ii) an understanding of the propeller effect on the aerodynamic data and iii) the control surface (elevon) effectiveness with incidence. Tests were carried out in a low speed wind tunnel at a freestream velocity of 8 m/s and 12 m/s corresponding to a test Reynolds number based on chord of about 120000 and 180000 respectively. Analysis of the aerodynamic data showed significant effect of propeller flow field on the lift, stall angle and drag of the vehicle. The propeller induced flow is seen to increase the lift coefficient at higher angle of attack and delay the stall. Nonlinear variation is observed in the rolling moment indicating the onset of asymmetric flow field at higher incidence. The effectiveness of the elevon is observed to increase linearly with incidence.