On a pragmatic combined CFD–analytical solution for deriving the complete 33-coefficient aerodynamic database of the UAV
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https://doi.org/10.54939/1859-1043.j.mst.FMC.2026.152-162Abstract
Developing robust 6-Degree-of-Freedom (6-DOF) autonomous flight control systems for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) requires a high-fidelity aerodynamic model. Relying strictly on unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with dynamic meshing is computationally prohibitive, while pure analytical methods such as the Etkin–Nelson formulations often yield unacceptable errors near stall conditions. This paper proposes a pragmatic combined CFD–analytical solution to extract a complete 33-coefficient aerodynamic database for the UAV, a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV (635 kg, 15.4 m wingspan).
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