Development of a Miniature VTOL Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

108 Pages·2016·2.71 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
2008-04-22
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Jeffrey V. Hogge
Brigham Young University - Provo
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Part of the Mechanical Engineering Commons
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Hogge, Jeffrey V., "Development of a Miniature VTOL Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" (2008). Theses
and Dissertations. 1373.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1373
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion
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DEVELOPMENTOFAMINIATUREVTOLTAIL-SITTER
UNMANNEDAERIALVEHICLE
by
JeffreyV.Hogge
Athesissubmittedtothefacultyof
BrighamYoungUniversity
inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof
MasterofScience
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering
BrighamYoungUniversity
August2008

Copyright(cid:13)c 2008JeffreyV.Hogge
AllRightsReserved

BRIGHAMYOUNGUNIVERSITY
GRADUATECOMMITTEEAPPROVAL
ofathesissubmittedby
JeffreyV.Hogge
This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by
majorityvotehasbeenfoundtobesatisfactory.
Date W.JerryBowman,Chair
Date TimothyW.McLain
Date ScottL.Thomson

BRIGHAMYOUNGUNIVERSITY
As chair of the candidate’s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Jeffrey V. Hogge
in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are
consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its
illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final
manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the
universitylibrary.
Date W.JerryBowman
Chair,GraduateCommittee
AcceptedfortheDepartment
MatthewR.Jones
GraduateCoordinator
AcceptedfortheCollege
AlanR.Parkinson
Dean,IraA.FultonCollegeof
EngineeringandTechnology

ABSTRACT
DEVELOPMENTOFAMINIATUREVTOLTAIL-SITTER
UNMANNEDAERIALVEHICLE
JeffreyV.Hogge
DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering
MasterofScience
Thedesign,analysis,constructionandflighttestingofaminiatureVerticalTake-Off
and Landing (VTOL) tail-sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) prototype is presented in
detail. Classic aircraft design methods were combined with numerical analysis to estimate
theaircraftperformanceandflightcharacteristics. Thenumericalanalysisemployedapro-
peller blade-element theory coupled with momentum equations to predict the influence of
apropellerslipstreamonthefreestreamflowfield,thentheaircraftwasanalyzedusing3-D
vortexlifting-linetheorytomodelfinitewingsimmersedintheflowfield. Fourprototypes
were designed, built, and tested and the evolution of these prototypes is presented. The
final prototype design is discussed in detail. A method for sizing control surfaces for a
tail-sitter was defined. The final prototype successfully demonstrated controllability both
in horizontal flight and vertical flight. Significant contributions included the development
of a control system that was effective in hover as well as descending vertical flight, and
the development of a strong but light weight airframe. The aircraft had a payload weight
fractionof14.5%andamaximumdimensionofonemeter,makingitthesmallesttail-sitter
UAV to carry a useful payload. This project is expected to provide a knowledge base for