Study of Inflatable Wings for UAVs

Supervisors : IIT Bombay: Prof. Rajkumar S. Pant, Department of Aerospace Engg.

Monash Univ.: Prof. Mark Thomson & Mr David Burton, Mechanical and Aerospace Engg Dept.

Motivation: Aeroelastic tailoring to enhance the utility of Inflatable wings for low Reynolds number flight operations

Inflatable wings have been widely regarded as viable candidates for future extra-terrestrial missions as

well as hand launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) due to their inherent foldability and mitigated weight

penalties. These have been found to produce significantly lower flow separation in low 𝑅𝑒 no. flow conditions

(e.g., during flight of a UAV in Mars). However, the undulating surface contour related to these unconventional

lifting surfaces make them amenable to complex flow phenomena. Moreover, owing to the flexible nature of these

wings, aeroelasticity plays a critical role in determining their overall performance. Thus, an analysis catering

for both these engineering disciplines, viz., aerodynamics and structural mechanics through the utilization of a

coupled aeroelastic analysis would play a key role in enhancing their overall flight performance and improve

their structural robustness. Based on this motivation, it is proposed to carry out experimental evaluations of

inflatable wings, while making use of suitable instrumentation to obtain structural deformations in the wing

structure, and delineate the impact of these deformations on the aerodynamic performance of inflatable wings.

Background

ecent spur in the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) across a multitude of aerospace applications including space

R travel have warranted the need to implement unconventional flight technologies. In-line with this, inflatable wings have been

incorporated on numerous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) since the 1950s [1] since they can be folded and stowed when not in use

[2, 3]. In-fact, UAVs with inflatable wings are also being touted as viable candidate for future space exploration missions. These are also

linked with lower serviceability requirements and heightened damage tolerance [4] compared to conventional smooth surface wings.

In-fact, because of these advantages, these are being investigated to be implemented on the future Martian UAVs [5] and have been a

topic of intense research at the University of Kentucky in USA under their Big Blue Project [6]. Apart from these, inflatable wings are

being utilized for several other UAV applications like gun launched observation vehicles, wing morphing through extension of wing tips

[7], winglets [8] and many more applications [2]. Despite the multitude of advantages related to inflatable wings, the application of

these systems is still scarce. Some of the challenges associated with their restrained implementation are constrained aspect ratio [9], lack

of roll control [10], and the need for an internal pressurization mechanism.

These wings operate in the low subsonic domain, wherein the impact of flow deviations related to the boundary layer phenomena and

vortex shedding and flow separation play a critical role in determining the overall aerodynamic performance [11]. Apart from these, the

constrained wing span requirement related to inflatable wings make them amenable to three dimensional effects [9]. Thus, obtaining an

aerodynamically efficient design would require a detailed understanding of the underlying flow characteristics. Considering the complex

nature of the associated flow, a number of studies by making use of experimental observations [10, 12], flight test experiments [1, 5] as

well as numerical investigations [6, 9, 12, 13] have been performed to underscore the effect of different geometric parameters related to

inflatable wings.
 Our research group at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Bombay has been involved in two-dimensional aerodynamic

investigations related to bumpy airfoil [14] since 2018. These investigations made use of steady state simulations for high 𝑅𝑒 flow

(𝑅𝑒 = 5 million) followed by unsteady simulations for the low 𝑅𝑒 flows (see Fig. 1). In-line with the erstwhile conclusions, these

investigations also inferred the presence of lower flow separation for the bumpy airfoil at low 𝑅𝑒, whereas the performance at high 𝑅𝑒

was significantly reduced. Further analysis is ongoing to study the impact of varying the geometric parameters related to bumpy airfoil

and ascertain the way forward for these airfoils. However, given the low aspect ratio related to these wings, expanding this analysis to

three-dimensional analysis would be required for future applications.

𝛼 Smooth Bumpy
1.51

Non-dimensionalized velocity, U*
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0° 0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
(a) (b) -0.59

1.96

Non-dimensionalized velocity, U*
1.5

5° 0.5

-0.5

(c) (d) -0.96

1.96

Non-dimensionalized velocity, U*
1.5

8° 0.5

-0.5

(e) (f) -0.96

Fig. 1 Non-dimensionalised velocity distribution at different angles of attack for smooth and bumpy airfoil at low Reynolds
number

y
B

A
x z Spanw
ise

(a) Wing based on smooth airfoil (b) Wing based on bumpy airfoil (also called inflatable wing)

Fig. 2 Comparison of smooth and bumpy airfoil based wing models

The structure of inflatable wings derived from conventional smooth wings (Fig. 2(a)) comprises a sequence of span-wise chambers

(marked as A in Fig. 2(b)), which are fixed at the baffle lines (marked as B in Fig. 2(b)). The respective baffle line positioning is

done based on the baseline airfoil contour, which provides rigidity for the inflatable wings to obtain the pertinent aerodynamic design.

2
 chamber

Cb

Cs
(a) Zoomed view of bumpy airfoil chamber (b) Geomterical parameters related to bumpy airfoil

Fig. 3 Two-dimensional characteristics related to bumpy airfoil geometry

Application of a suitable internal pressurization mechanism leads to the formation of an undulating surface contour as seen in Fig. 2(b).

The inherent structure of these wings make use of a sequence of chambered sections (also called as compartments [15]) that are sealed

together to form the wing structure. Inflatable wings can be further categorized as internal and external baffled wings. In the internal

baffled variant, the bump is tangential to the airfoil geometry, whereas the later corresponds to baffle lines intersecting the baseline airfoil

(see Fig. 3(a)). Notably, the overall structure of inflatable wings introduce additional geometry parameters that is, the airfoil length ratio

(𝐴𝐿𝑅), number of compartments (𝑁𝐶 ), cross-section of the baseline airfoil and material thickness ratio (𝑀𝑇 𝑅). Airfoil length ratio

is the ratio of bumpy airfoil chord (𝑐 𝑏 ) and the smooth airfoil chord (𝑐 𝑠 ) as seen in Fig. 3(b). Material thickness ratio is the ratio of

thickness associated with upper and lower surface fiber and thickness of the baffle [16]. From an aerodynamic stand-point, the 𝐴𝐿𝑅 and

𝑁𝐶 play a crucial role in establishing the desired aerodynamic performance. Major focus of aerodynamic investigations being carried

out at IIT Bombay involves delineating the effects of these parameters on the performance of bumpy airfoil and make use of the same

understanding to integrate inflatable wings for an appropriate wing morphing UAV.

It is also noteworthy that, the flexible nature of these wings have led to numerous structural and some aeroelastic evaluations

[15, 17], which emphasized the need to carry out a more detailed analysis on the aeroelastic behavior related to these wings. In-fact, the

aeroelastic analysis carried out by Simpson et. al [17] made use of the inherent flexibility to obtain wing warping, and hence making use

of aeroelastic tailoring to bring about the desired output. This establishes the relevance of such an analysis and a deeper understanding

on the effect of different geometrical parameters from an aeroelastic stand-point will prove to be the biggest impetus for increasing the

utility of inflatable wings.

Considering the efficacy of these wings to generate improved drag and lifting characteristics in low 𝑅𝑒 flow, while considering the

fact that a suitable coupling of the inherent flexibility and aerodynamic loading can be utilized to enhanced its performance, we propose

to carry out a detailed aeroelastic analysis related to these wings. The study would involve the utilization of wind tunnel experiments

and numerical evaluations to decipher the underlying aeroelastic characteristics. Collation of such studies while varying the different

geometric parameters related to inflatable wings could prove helpful in improving the roll control and mitigate the aspect ratio constraint

related to these flexible wings.

Proposed Methodology

• Selection of the geometrical parameters for analyses (Joint)

• Design of the inflatable wing (at IIT Bombay)

• Wind tunnel tests and CFD analyses to obtain the required aerodynamic and structural deformation data (at Monash University)

– obtain span-wise aerodynamic loading using state-of-the-art Wind Tunnel facilities

3
 – Flow visualisation using tools like photogrammetry to study the wing deformations

• Fabrication and load testing of the inflatable wings (IIT Bombay)

• Analysis of results to decipher the effect of these parameters on the aerodynamic loading of inflatable wings (Joint)

• Aeroelastic tailoring to improve the aerodynamic characteristics related to inflatable wings (Joint)

Timeline

• T0: Research initiation

• TO+4 months: Literature survey and model selection

• T0+12 months: Design of the test configurations

• T0+24 months: Wind tunnel experimentation and data acquisition at Monash, CFD computations at IIT Bombay and Monash

University

• T0+30 months: Data analyses

• T0+36 months: Fabrication and structural testing of Inflatable wings

• T0+42 months: Thesis writing

• T0+48 months: PhD Defence and Research closure

Expected Outcomes

1) Understanding the impact of different geometrical parameters related to inflatable wings on its overall performance

2) Collation of the data can be used to implement further modifications to the baseline model and carry out integration of servos and

flexible wings to generate the required aerodynamic loading

References
[1] Jacob, J. D., Simpson, A., and Smith, S., “Design and flight testing of inflatable wings with wing warping,” Tech. rep., SAE Technical Paper, 2005.

[2] Cadogan, D., Smith, T., Uhelsky, F., and Mackusick, M., “Morphing inflatable wing development for compact package unmanned aerial vehicles,”

45th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics & Materials Conference, 2004, p. 1807.

[3] Jacob, J., and Smith, S., “Design of hale aircraft using inflatable wings,” 46th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 2008, p. 167.

[4] Cadogan, D., Scarborough, S., Gleeson, D., Dixit, A., Jacob, J., and Simpson, A., “Recent development and test of inflatable wings,”

47th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference 14th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures

Conference 7th, 2006, p. 2139.

[5] Reasor, D., LeBeau, R., Smith, S., and Jacob, J., “Flight testing and simulation of a mars aircraft design using inflatable wings,” 45th AIAA

Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, 2007, p. 243.

[6] Reasor, D., LeBeau Jr, R., and Jacob, J., “Numerical study of bumpy airfoil control for low Reynolds numbers,” 37th AIAA Fluid Dynamics

Conference and Exhibit, AIAA-2007-4100, Miami, FL, 2007.

[7] Pulliam, W., and Norris, R., “Historical perspective on inflatable wing structures,” 50th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural

Dynamics, and Materials Conference 17th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 11th AIAA No, 2009, p. 2145.

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 [8] De Fenza, A., D’Orazio, D., Barile, M., and Lecce, L., “Development of finite element model for morphing inflatable winglet,” Aerotecnica

Missili & Spazio, Vol. 94, No. 2, 2015, pp. 124–132.

[9] Beltz, J., Spencer, G., Krofta, J., and LeBeau, R. P., “An investigation of three-dimensional flow over an undulating inflatable wing,” 54th AIAA

Aerospace Sciences Meeting, 2016, p. 0593.

[10] Wang, H., and Li, Y., “The Aerodynamic Performance of an Inflatable Wing in Aircraft,” 7th International Conference on Education, Management,

Information and Mechanical Engineering (EMIM 2017), Atlantis Press, 2017, pp. 12–17.

[11] Jung, Y., and Park, S. O., “Vortex-shedding characteristics in the wake of an oscillating airfoil at low Reynolds number,” Journal of Fluids and

Structures, Vol. 20, No. 3, 2005, pp. 451–464.

[12] Ghobadi, K., Pifer, E., LeBeau, R., Bramesfeld, G., and McQuilling, M., “A computational and experimental investigation of flow over an

inflatable wing,” 30th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, 2012, p. 2899.

[13] LeBeau, R., Reasor, D., Gilliam, T., Schloemer, A., Hauser, T., and Johansen, T., “Numerical comparison of flow over bumpy inflatable airfoils,”

47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including The New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, 2009, p. 1306.

[14] Tripathi, M., Mistri, S. R., and Pant, R. S., “Aerodynamic Comparison of Smooth Versus Bumpy Airfoil at Different Reynolds Number,” AIAA

SCITECH 2023 Forum, 2023, p. 2110.

[15] Mistri, S. R., Pant, R. S., Guha, A., and Yerramalli, C. S., “Optimization of the Compartment Layout in an Inflatable Airfoil,” AIAA SCITECH

2022 Forum, 2022, p. 1136.

[16] Mistri, S. R., Pant, R. S., Yerramalli, C. S., and Guha, A., “Methodology for Obtaining an Optimized Baffled Airfoil for an Inflatable Wing,” 32nd

Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 2021, pp. 1–9.

[17] Simpson, A., Smith, S., and Jacob, J., “Aeroelastic behavior of inflatable wings: wind tunnel and flight testing,” 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences

Meeting and Exhibit, 2007, p. 1069.