design and manufacturing of generic unmanned aerial vehicle fuselage assembly

103 Pages·2012·6.79 MB·English

by  Ah Quan

DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF GENERIC UNMANNED AERIAL
VEHICLE FUSELAGE ASSEMBLY (PAYLOAD BAY, EMPENNAGE,
WHEEL ASSEMBLY AND WINGBOX) VIA LOW COST FIBER GLASS
MOLDING PROCESS

ANG ENG LING

A project progress report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Mechatronics Engineering

Faculty of Engineering and Science
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

April 2012
ii

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report is based on my original work except for the
citations and quotation which have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has
not been previously and concurrently submitted for any other degree or award at
UTAR or other institutions.

Signature :

Name : Ang Eng Ling

ID No. : 08UEB05561

Date : 13 APRIL 2012
iii

APPROVAL FOR SUBMISSION

I certify that this project report entitled “Design and Manufacturing of Generic
Unmanned Aerial vehicle fuselage assembly (Payload bay, empennage, wheel
assembly and wingbox) via low cost fiber glass molding process” was prepared
by ANG ENG LING has met the required standard for submission in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.)
Mechatronics Engineering at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Approved by,

Signature :

Supervisor :

Date :
iv

The copyright of this report belongs to the author under the terms of the
copyright Act 1987 as qualified by Intellectual Property Policy of University Tunku
Abdul Rahman. Due acknowledgement shall always be made of the use of any
material contained in, or derived from, this report.

© 2012, Ang Eng Ling. All right reserved.
v

Specially dedicated to
my lovely parents
who are so concerns of my health
vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful of this project laid on the good guidance and instructions of both my
supervisors, Mr. Chuah Yea Dat and Mr. Julian Tan Kok Ping. Their expertise in
manufacturing and aeronautics assisted me in solving difficulties faced in the project.
Besides their guidance, they sacrificed their precious time in exploring me to various
fields of knowledge to enhance the quality of the project and prototype.
vii

DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF GENERIC UNMANNED AERIAL
VEHICLE FUSALAGE ASSEMBLY (PAYLOAD BAY, EMPENNAGE,
WHEEL ASSEMBLY AND WINGBOX) VIA LOW COST FIBER GLASS
MOLDING PROCESS

ABSTRACT

The use of generic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is getting common as its small
size can easily replace bulky aerial vehicle such as helicopters and airplanes in
performing surveillance missions. However, spacious room is need to store the UAV
and the cost for a generic UAV is relatively high and seldom be owned by normal
commercials and industries other than military forces. The purpose of this project is
to produce a detachable, and yet low cost generic unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
This aircraft should be light weight enough to be hand launched to the air. Hence a
lot of conventional methods to produce an aircraft are not suitable in manufacturing
this generic unmanned aerial vehicle. For example, the use of bulkhead will be
reduced to minimum in order to decrease the weight of the generic UAV and
increase the cargo space for the payload bay. In addition, the generic UAV has to be
detachable. This enables the user to attach it when performing surveillance activity
and detach it for easy storage so that the generic UAV could be packed in small
space. The proposed method in this project to manufacture the generic UAV
economically is by using low cost fiber glass to mold the fuselage of the place. A
pair of male and female mold will be constructed and the shape of the fuselage will
be imitated using flexible fiber glass in the molding part of the mold. Epoxy
cohesive and hardener will be used to harden and sustain the shape of the fuselage
during the molding process. Finishing touches will be applied to the new molded
fuselage to refine the aerodynamics flow around the body.
viii

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION ii
APPROVAL FOR SUBMISSION iii
ACKHNOLEDGEMENTS vi
ABSTRACT vii
TABLE OF CONTENT viii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xii
LIST OF APPENDICES xviii

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Objectives 2
1.3 Chapter Outline 3

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1 Recent UAV Development 4
2.2 Design of Fuselage and Empennage of UAV 7
2.3 Ways of Deployment of UAV 9
2.4 Breakthrough in Aerospace Composites Manufacturing 13
2.5 Low Cost Composites Structure Manufacturing Techniques 15
2.6 Low Cost Expandable UAV 19
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3 METHODOLOGY 23
3.1 Project Design Overview 23
3.2 Designing the UAV 25
3.3 Fabrication of UAV Fuselage 26

4 DESINING AND MANUFACTURING THE UNMANNED 27
AERIAL VEHIVLE
4.1 Designing the UAV 27
4.1.1 Fuselage Design 27
4.1.2 Empennage 29
4.1.2.1 Single Boom or Double Boom 29
4.1.2.2 Empennage Design 31
4.2 Material Selection 32
4.2.1 Fuselage Material 32
4.2.1.1 Fuselage Frame 32
4.2.1.2 Bulkhead 34
4.2.1.3 Fuselage Skin 35
4.2.2 Summary of Material Selected 38
4.3 Manufacturing Method Selection 39
4.4 UAV Fabrication 40
4.4.1 Fuselage Frame 40
4.4.1.1 Longerons 41
4.4.1.2 Bulkheads 42
4.4.1.3 Vertical and Diagonal Supportive Structures 45
4.4.1.4 Connecting the Jigsaws 47
4.4.2 UAV Skin 47
4.4.2.1 Preparing the Mold 48
4.4.2.2 Molding the Skin 49
4.4.3 Problems Encounter during Fabrication Process 51
4.4.3.1 Balsa Woods 51
4.4.3.2 Fuselage Frame Warping 52
4.4.3.3 Mixing the Right Ration and Amount of Epoxy 52
Adhesive 53
x

4.4.3.4 Spreading Right Amount of Epoxy Adhesive 53
4.4.3.5 Laying the Fiberglass and Health Issues 54
4.4.4 Completed Fuselage Frame with Skin Molded 55
4.5 Fabricating the Empennage 56
4.5.1 Fabricating the Tailplane and Elevator 57
4.5.2 The Fins and Rudder 58
4.5.3 Filming the Empennage 69
4.5.3.1 Ironing the ToughLon 60
4.6 Landing Gear 61

5 ASSEMBLING THE UAV FUSELAGE, WINGS AND 64
EMPENNAGE
5.1 Assembling the UAV 64
5.1.1 Assembling the UAV Empennage 65
5.1.2 Wiring and Servo Motors 68
5.1.2.1 Problems of Wiring Installation 70
5.1.3 Wings 71
5.2 Completed UAV 74

6 TESTING THE UNMANNED GENERIC VEHICLE 75
6.1 Test Flight 75
6.2 Flutter Test 79

7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 80
7.1 Conclusion 80
7.2 Recommendation 81

REFERENCES 82

APPENDICES 84