Thesis

This work is the continuation of a longstanding project which aims at developing a fixed-wing unmanned air vehicle (UAV). The design incorporates a high-mounted wing and a pushing propeller, with a stereoscopic camera as its main payload. Building upon four years of development, modifications to the UAV design were made. A real-scale wing was manufactured to conduct mechanical tests, and a new aerodynamic-efficient half-scale fuselage was developed for wind tunnel studies at the University of Liège. The report consists of four main chapters: the first focuses on changes to the fuselage and constraints met during conception, alongside experimental wind tunnel data. The second provides an aerodynamic study on the entire half-scale model, although equilibrium studies were limited due to technical issues. The third chapter delves into the propulsive system, detailing wind tunnel tests to derive thrust curves and exploring a twin-engine configuration. Finally, the flight control surfaces are sized according to specific flight constraints, with servomotors selected based on computed performance. This work aims to address challenges highlighted in previous reports, specifically regarding aerodynamics and performance.