Aerodynamic and Bending Analysis of Low-Speed Airfoils at High Reynold Number

The growing demand for UAVs with short take-off landing, high payload capabilities, and better aerodynamic efficiencies has emerged studies to find an airfoil that can satisfy the current market needs. In this research, a computational analysis was carried to find out the most suitable airfoil design at a low Reynolds number based on aerodynamic as well as mechanical properties. In this research, an Aerodynamic and Mechanical comparison has been done among airfoils CH 10, EPPLER 420, EPPLER 421, EPPLER 423, GOE 448, FX 62-K-153, FX 63–137, S1210 (12 %), S1223, S1223 RTL, NREL’S S825, FX 74-CL5-140, FX 74-CL5-140 MOD based on computational simulation to find out most suitable airfoil for low-speed Fixed-Wing UAV. This research is carried out at Reynolds number 300,000 on a test specimen wing with a Wing-span of 200 cm and a Wing-chord of 30 cm using XFLR-5 (version 6.54), ANSYS-Fluent (Version 2021 R2), and SOLIDWORKS Simulation (Version 2022 R1). Aerodynamic comparison concluded S1223 as the most dominating airfoil based on Lift Force and CH 10 as the most dominating airfoil based on Lift-to-Drag ratio. On the other hand, wing bending analysis concluded EPPLER 420 as the most dominating airfoil with the least wing bending which is followed by CH 10 airfoil. This research concluded CH 10 as the most suitable airfoil for low-speed Fixed-Wing UAVs based on its balanced contribution aerodynamically and mechanically that will help Fixed-Wing UAVs to carry a heavy load at low speed as well as decrease manufacturing costs by reducing extra support structure that will be required for other airfoils.