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WINNER
Design Excellence Award

IMechE UAS Challenge – Fixed Wing

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Design Excellence Award, Group Design Project
The UAS Challenge 2015 is a competition set up and run by the IMechE. The aim of the challenge is to design, construct and demonstrate an Unmanned Aerial System.
Group Members
Michael Ladhams, Guy Morgan, Andrew Theobald, James Thomas, Richard Whitehouse

Supervisors
Professor Jim Scanlan, Professor Keith Towell

Sponsors
Selex EX Ltd

The overall objective is to deploy two 1 kg bags of flour representing aid packages, as accurately and quickly as possible, onto a predefined target. This is to be done by navigating a series of waypoints, defined on the day of the demonstration event, and then returning to the base location safely. The UAS also needs to identify an alphanumeric code located within the target area and ensure that the bags of flour remain intact to score maximum points. This entire procedure is to be completed autonomously.

The team followed a structured design process, ranking scoring opportunities and concepts. This was followed by an iterative flight mechanics design process to fulfil the mission requirements. The team have supported their work by using a computer aided design package. As well as this the team conducted testing of the main structural components of the wing. Subsequently the aircraft was manufactured utilising a unique slot locating fuselage as the main structural body. Several components, including the tailplane hub, were produced using 3D printing techniques, offering increased design flexibility. The hub incorporates a large number of features, vastly reducing the complexity of the manufacture and maintenance processes. Structural testing of key components has also been undertaken to prove their airworthiness.

The final phase of the design process involved a series of flight tests. The team planned a test campaign in order to assess key aircraft performance parameters such as stall speed, maximum speed and minimum drag speed. Data was gathered using an autopilot system on board the aircraft. From analysis of the data collected, the performance estimates were validated against the predicted values.

The main challenge of the project has been to build an airframe with a mass of under 5 kg, while maintaining the ability to carry and deploy 2 kg of payload. The aircraft has the ability to carry a variety of payloads, including cameras, while utilising a short take-off and landing capability. Close attention has also been paid to the environmental impact of the aircraft throughout its lifecycle. Finally, the design is completely modular, allowing the team to optimise the design before the competition in July.

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