Numerical Analysis on Aerodynamic Interference of a Novel Tilt-rotor UAV in Transition Mode

In order to investigate the aerodynamic interference of a novel tilt-rotor UAV in transition mode more effectively, numerical analysis based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is completed in this paper. Firstly, the model of the designed UAV is introduced. For the simulations, the hybrid grid method is used to establish the UAV and background grid, the S - A (Spalart-Allmaras) model is used as the model of air, and the MRF (Multiple Reference Frame) method is used to establish the rotor model. Based on the above methods, the flow fields of tilt-rotor UAV in transition mo de are simulated with three dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. Furthermore, comparisons between simulations and experiments are made to demonstrate the reliability of the proposed CFD method in simulating the flow fields of tilt-rotor UAV. After the establishment and verification of the CFD method. The analysis of the tilting curve is made to provide the method to organize the numerical simulation. By analysis and comparisons on the results of numerical simulation, some meaningful conclusions about aerodynamic interference caused by rotor/wing in the transition mode are obtained.