Principal and Considerations for Design of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Inspection and Survey

This study aims to identify the principal and considerations for the design of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for inspection and survey processes. It provides a background of the current stage of the technologies and design parameters that should be taken into consideration for different aerial configurations. Additionally, a very robust design tool, Nonlinear Aeroelastic Trim and Stability of HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) Aircraft (NATASHA) is customized to assess the aeroelastic stability and design of flexible fixed-wing that are beneficiary to survey and inspection maneuvers. Three aircraft configurations that are suitable for mapping and survey maneuvers have been designed with NATASHA. These designs are adjustable based on the payload requirement (camera, data acquisition system, etc.) and flight conditions. The computer program has been modified to take into account these parameters systematically and assess the stability of the aircraft. Moreover, an implementation demonstration of small rotorcraft drone for conceptual verification is performed for selective identified processes and applications. A model drone (rotorcraft) was used to carry out a different view of existing bridge segments in FIU Engineering Campus, which were part of the exit ramp of the Fort Lauderdale airport that was removed in 2013. As an exercise, the pilot flew the drone in the vicinity of the bridge segments and captured clear pictures of the damaged part of the bridge.

• Record URL:
  https://abc-utc.fiu.edu/research-projects/fiu-research-projects/use-drones-abc/

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $52608
• Contract Numbers:

  DTRT13-G-UTC41

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)

  Florida International University
  10555 W. Flagler Street
  Miami, FL  United States  33174

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)

  Florida International University
  10555 W. Flagler Street
  Miami, FL  United States  33174

  Department of Transportation

  Office of the Secretary
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Azizinamini, Atorod

• Performing Organizations:

  Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)

  Florida International University
  10555 W. Flagler Street
  Miami, FL  United States  33174

  Florida International University

  10555 W. Flagler Street
  Room 3602
  Miami, FL  United States  33172
• Principal Investigators:

  Mardanpour, Pezhman

  Mehrabi, Armin

• Start Date: 20170601
• Expected Completion Date: 20190531
• Actual Completion Date: 20190430
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Drones; Field tests; Inspection; State of the practice; Surveying; Vehicle design
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Bridges and other structures; Design; Maintenance and Preservation; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01711242
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC41
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 20 2018 3:32PM