Generalized design and optimization of small UAV based on flight dynamic analysis

As an important part of aerial vehicle design, the process of aerodynamic analysis integrates parameters which come from different subsystems. Hence that's the flight dynamic analysis plays a key role in generalized design of aerial vehicles. And this is even more important for small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) because of its strong coupling between structure design and control system. This paper presents an approach to optimize the generalized design of the SUAV. Based on the state-space aerodynamic model, this paper analyzes how the change of characteristic parameters (center of gravity, location of tail, etc.) from different subsystems affects the open and close-loop response of the small UAV. A type of generalized optimized design method is presented as an engineering experience, which could be a reference for its design. The proposed approach was applied in the development and evaluation of a membrane wing SUAV with wingspan of 1 meter and some model aircrafts with similar wingspans and flight dynamic characteristics.