Unsteady aerodynamics investigation of deploying tandem-wing with different methods

In the rapidly deploying process of the unmanned aerial vehicle with folding wings, the aerodynamic characteristics could be largely different owing to the effects of deformation rate and the aerodynamic interference. The investigation on the unsteady aerodynamics is of great significance for the stability analysis and control design. The lifting-line method and the vortex-lattice method are improved to calculate the unsteady aerodynamics in the morphing stage. It is validated that the vortex-lattice method predicts the unsteady lift coefficient more appropriately than the lifting-line method. Different tandem wing configurations with deployable wings are simulated with different deformation rates during the morphing stage by the vortex-lattice method. As results indicated, the unsteady lift coefficient and the induced drag of the fore wing rise with the deformation rate increasing, but it is reversed for the hind wing. Additionally, the unsteady lift coefficient of the tandem wing configuration performs well with a larger stagger, a larger magnitude of the gap and a larger wingspan of the fore wing; however, the total induced drag has a larger value for the configuration that the two lifting surfaces with the same wingspans are closer to each other.