Experimental Validation of an Aerodynamic Sectional Modeling Approach in Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper presents an experimental validation of the aerodynamic sectional modeling approach as a general methodology to model the aerodynamic effects on aerial vehicles. The introduced modeling scheme also takes into consideration important effects such as engine load torque and landing gear contact. The dynamic model is derived after Kirchhoff's formulation expressed as a function of the extended momentum vector. The effective forces and torques are included as the addition of independent sources. The aerodynamic effects are computed as the summation of forces and torques over each body section on the airplane, and the engine thrust and load are included in simulation by means of experimental transfer functions. The experimental validation is conducted using a RC-controlled fixed-wing airplane PT-40 instrumented with the proper avionics to measure its pose (position and attitude) for trajectory tracking purposes. A comparative analysis shows that the analytical model and the experimental setup describe similar qualitative behavior in an open-loop maneuver and reveals that the propeller load torque produces significant aerodynamic effects on both longitudinal and lateral-directional stability of the vehicle.