Optimisation of a solar-powered high altitude long endurance uav

Olivier Montagnier (1) , Laurent Bovet (1)

1 CReA - Centre de Recherche de l'École de l'air

High altitude high endurance solar powered UAV can be a solution for many missions. The design complexity is due to the very high altitudes expected and the low available energy to supply the engines. During time of daylight, the solar energy is converted by photovoltaic cells and then used to supply electrical motors and payload. The energy remaining part is stored in a regenerative fuel cell and in potential energy with a climb maneuver. At night, fuel cell provides energy necessary to motors and payload. Optimisation carried out here consists in maximising the payload for a fixed total mass. It requires mass model for each constitutive part of the aircraft. In particular, the mass of the wing is minimised by the use of composite materials and by tolerate a large flexibility. A new analytical mass model is proposed here very useful for this particular application. Optimisation shows the existence of the UAV in a cruise speed versus lift coefficient diagram. This one revealed an optimal solution having a payload of about 4 % of the total mass of 817  kg for a 69  m wing span.

Domaines: Matériaux et structures en mécanique [physics.class-ph]; Vibrations [physics.class-ph]

Olivier Montagnier, Laurent Bovet. Optimisation of a solar-powered high altitude long endurance uav. Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of the Aeronautical Sciences, 2010, Nice, France. ⟨hal-01315480⟩