One of the things we are working on is to understand how icing affects the aerodynamic performance of a fixed-wing UAV. Until today, very little research has been conducted on the differences between icing on manned and unmanned aircraft. Management of the icing risk is a key step in ensuring that these applications can be conducted safely and reliably in the future. package deliveries, search & rescue, communications, or pipeline monitoring. BVLOS mission are required for many of the drone application which are currently discussed, e.g.
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Some that are particularly relevant when it comes to icing are operations that are occurring beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), because icing can occur without the ground pilot noticing. UAVs are an emerging technology with many potential applications. Ice on a UAV airfoil from icing wind tunnel test. Atmospheric icing is, therefore, a severe hazard to all aircraft and have catastrophic consequences. The typical penalties are an increase in drag, a decrease in lift, and a reduction of the stall margin. The resulting ice shapes are disrupting the airflow and lead to a decrease in aerodynamic performance.
![pointwise airfoil generator pointwise airfoil generator](https://img.yumpu.com/9588257/1/500x640/control-of-tethered-airfoils-for-high-altitude-wind-lorenzo-fagiano.jpg)
Small surfaces, like wings, elevators, and propellers are particularly sensitive to icing and can accumulate significant amounts of ice on the leading-edge. Liquid droplets, with a temperature below freezing, turn into ice when they collide with the airframe. One of the most challenging tasks for the simulation is the generation of high-quality meshes of complex ice shapes.Ītmospheric icing, also called in-cloud icing, occurs when an aircraft encounters supercooled droplets in the atmosphere. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methods, originally developed for manned aircraft icing, are an important tool for understanding the effects of icing on UAVs.
![pointwise airfoil generator pointwise airfoil generator](https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0045793020300050-gr22.jpg)
Icing of drones is a severe hazard that significantly limits the usage of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).