Interaction of a Small Unmanned Aerial System with a Moving Vehicle

An experimental investigation of the aerodynamics of a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) landing on a fast moving ground vehicle is presented. A representative ground vehicle (RGV) and sUAS have been constructed for experimental measurements of vehicle interactions in a low speed, recirculating wind tunnel. Direct force measurements and quantitative flow image techniques are employed to probe how the sUAS interacts with the wake structures shed by the RGV during a landing maneuver. Two way coupling is found between the wakes of the vehicles, with the presence of the sUAS sometimes significantly modifying the wake structures generated by the RGV. The mean aerodynamic forces acting on the sUAS are found to be dependant on proximity to the RGV. Conversely the fluctuation in those aerodynamic forces acting on the sUAS are found to depend on the wake interaction taking place between the sUAS and the RGV.