Innovative Ground Effect Wing Design Based on Arduino Control Platform
23rd Fengru Cup First Prize Winner
Demonstration Video
Principle Video
This project attempts to introduce wing layouts into ground effect vehicles, aiming to compensate for the shortcomings of both through complementarity and innovation. The wing tips are equipped with two vertical stabilizers with control surfaces, allowing the vehicle to achieve no roll yaw during ground effect flight, avoiding wing-ground friction; the vehicle’s control system is entirely self-developed, centered around an Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller, equipped with ultrasonic sensors, allowing seamless switching between automatic and manual control modes; manual control is used during high-altitude flight, while automatic control is employed during ground effect flight to mitigate the shortcomings of manual control; utilizing the nRF24L01 wireless bidirectional communication module enables the vehicle to provide real-time feedback on flight status, with PC-side adjustments to flight altitude in real time. The goal is to create a high lift-to-drag ratio, large flight envelope, heavy payload, good maneuverability, excellent controllability, optimized structure, and easy maintenance vehicle.
Keywords: ground effect flight, flying wing, arduino, automatic control
Traditional ground effect vehicles can achieve high lift-to-drag ratios, large payloads, and relatively high speeds, but their flying altitude is insufficient, and they have high requirements for ground conditions; additionally, their principles have not been thoroughly researched. These significantly hinder their development.
Flying wing layouts can have large payloads and fuselage space, but their poor maneuverability and stability cannot be ignored.
This project adopts a flying wing layout with improvements. It first uses computer simulation to compare the aerodynamic performance of different airfoil shapes under various conditions, determining the most suitable airfoil shape, and combining it with the performance requirements of the vehicle to establish aerodynamic layout parameters such as wing sweep angle and dihedral angle; next, a technical verification vehicle is developed, initially testing its stability and controllability without an automatic control system, and optimizing the structure of the vehicle based on actual conditions; finally, all electronic devices are installed, attempting to achieve seamless switching between manual and automatic control.
Sensor Installation Position
November 2014 to January 2015
Review relevant materials to complete project design concepts and preliminary designs
February 2015 to March 2015
Complete overall design and control system design
Assembly and debugging of the vehicle
Test flight, verification of control system and information transmission system
Flight effect analysis and completion of research content
Without mentioning the policy benefits, my greatest gain from participating in the Fengru Cup is that I took on the primary responsibility for the first time, leading a team to complete a project, rather than waiting for tasks to be assigned; instead, I had to seek out tasks and supervise their completion, which greatly enhanced my initiative and sense of responsibility. The role has changed, the perspective on issues has shifted, and the results of work will also differ.I believe that all the students participating in the competition will have similar realizations in the future.
I can’t really give any advice, I just sincerely hope that everyone can participate in the Fengru Cup or other technology competitions during their limited university time, as different people will gain different experiences.
As for some small tips, after maximizing efforts to perfect the project, pay attention to slightly elevating the starting point in your paper writing, especially during the defense, be cautious and careful, avoiding any fabrication that could give judges grounds to criticize, as this greatly impacts scores. Moreover, try not to make the judges unhappy, which is common sense. These are just small tips; the main thing still relies on everyone’s capabilities, hands-on skills, and inspiration, and for inspiration, besides accumulating knowledge and thinking regularly, visiting relevant websites or following related WeChat public accounts is also a good way to stay informed.
Click “Read the original text” to download the original paper from the expert~
Project Authors: Chen Jinyong, Long Yangguang, Xia Qiuyang, Wang Yuxi
Organizer: Zhang Zehua
