Computational investigations for the application of winglets on small-scale UAVs

This study was conducted under the 4R-UAV project. The project is funded by the Latvian Council of Science with the goal of creating an innovative, aerodynamically improved, and environmentally friendly UAV. The application of winglets on small-scale UAVs is not very common; however, successful implementation of winglets can improve the aerodynamic performance of even a small-scale UAV. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the application of the three different types of winglets for low-speed small-scale UAVs. Blended, wingtip fence, and raked winglet types were analyzed using CFD, and a comparison was carried out with the baseline wing (without winglets). The results showed that the blended and wingtip fence winglets exhibited better aerodynamic characteristics for the UAV. Conversely, the raked-type winglets exhibited lower aerodynamic efficiency. It was found that the blended winglets were the most suitable for low-speed small-scale UAVs which exhibited a nearly 11% increase in aerodynamic quality compared to the baseline wing.