Aerodynamic analysis and optimization of airfoilof an unmanned aerial vehicle using CFD

Airfoil is a substantial part of an aircraft affecting directly and significantly on the performance and efficiency of the design for that reason the airfoil selection part of the design process is an essential step affects the success of the whole aircraft design process. In this thesis, a selection process study of an airfoil of a small unmanned aerial vehicle has been carried out. A two-dimensional computational simulation has been carried out in order to determine the optimal airfoil profile from seven different airfoils HS520, MH114, MH45, MH60, SA7035, SA7038, and SD7090 which have been chosen upon their popularity and suitability for unmanned aerial vehicles. The simulations were performed at chord Reynolds number Re= 2.4 · 105 low subsonic flow speed in ANSYS Fluent using the finite volume approach. Transition Shear Stress Transport (γ-Reθ) SST is used as a turbulence model. Another study also has been performed using XFOIL to compare and verify the results of the Fluent study. The lift coefficient, the low stalling speed, the lift to drag ratio, and some stall characteristics have been set to be the criteria which have been used to select an appropriate wing airfoil which satisfies the design requirements. The aerodynamic characteristics of lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and lift to drag ratio were compared for seven different airfoils through the range of angle of attack between -3 and 15 degrees. MH114 airfoil section fulfilled the criteria of the selection approach and showed the overall best performance at the specifications of the design thus, it has been selected for the wing airfoil section. Moreover, the flow physics of the chosen airfoil MH114 have been examined in detail.