Design of Solar-powered Endurance Glider with Vortex Generators

This research work aims at designing a solar endurance glider for an increased flight time. The constraints for the design include reduction in weight compared to a typical glider, and improving its aerodynamic performance by application of the vortex generators on its wingspan. The design of each component is performed through various stages of similitude cases; furthermore, the components such as the solar panels and vortex generators are selected based on a decision matrix design process. This research work utilizes the ANSYS 18.1 K-Omega SST turbulence simulation techniques in order to successfully simulate the glider at different speeds along with various angles of attack for the aerodynamics optimization. The results obtained show an improvement in the lift force from 160 N to 192 N once the vortex generators are installed. 16 solar cells are installed on the glider’s wings, providing 57.6 Watts of power. This work faces a limitation on the physical testing using a wind tunnel for validation; therefore, the team relies on the CFD simulation verification from the published data. This report details the concepts of boundary layer, design process, and glider simulation as well as the glider configurations such as the wingspan and total length. The glider should be able to maintain a flight time of at least 6 hours with vortex generators and solar panels.