Composite Wing Structure Design And Optimization Of A Solar-Powered Aerial Vehicle

Solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is an environmentally friendly energy-efficient aircraft. With the development of new energies, this new green energy plane has become a hot spot. Large aspect ratio wings provide enough lift for the solar-powered UAVs, and such wings are mainly composed of high specific strength composite materials in order to reduce structural weight and saving energy. Composite materials can greatly improve the efficiency of UAV structure and improve the performance of the solar-powered UAV. Advanced solar-powered UVA design methods can meet the stringent structural requirements. The finite element analysis results of the solar-powered UAV structure can provide reference for its optimization.A solar-powered UAV composite wing structure is analyzed and optimized in the paper. First, a double-beam skin wing structure is selected according to the technical indicators and structural requirements of the UAV wing. Such structure can give full play to its characteristics of bending and torsion so as to reduce the stress of its skin and protect the solar panels on the wing. The wing loads cause complex nonlinear deformation of the thin-walled wing structure. Then, a double-beam skin wing model is established with a nonlinear finite element method, and the wing load distribution is computed through ABAQUS fluid analysis. The mechanical properties of three kinds of wings are obtained under the condition of the air loads. And then, the bending and torsion characteristics of the three wings are compared. The vibration characteristics are also obtained through modal analyses. The results show that a square-beam wing is the appropriate structure that has good bending characteristics, torsion characteristics and manufacturability. Finally, the buckling of the wing ribs and the effect of material laying method on their bulking properties are analyzed. Consequently, the weight of the ribs is optimized and reduced by 48% and thereby the weight of the whole wing is reduced by 11.7%. The results of the paper can provide valuable reference for the design of solar-powered UAV wings.