A Novel Control Surface for Energy-Optimum Maneuver for Solar-Powered Aircraft

Abstract

This paper presents a new control surface, which we have named auxiron, that helps a solar-powered aircraft to orient itself according to the position of the sun in the sky to collect more solar power. The auxiron also enables an aircraft to land in crosswind conditions with no or reduced sideslip angle depending on the auxiron control power. The auxiron serves to produce the necessary side aerodynamic force for counterbalancing the horizontal component of the lift force. Its primary purpose is to eliminate the sideslip angle during flight with a nonzero bank angle. This results in a reduction in aerodynamic drag and power consumption required to maintain a straight-line flight with nonzero bank angles. By implementing this innovative control surface, an aircraft can now cruise straight without experiencing any sideslip angle, even with nonzero bank angles. The modified stability and control derivatives for the aircraft configuration with the auxiron are established, and these derivatives are incorporated into the aircraft dynamics. The 6-DoF simulation is carried out for the solar UAV, Maraal, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the auxiron.