Determination of Acceptable Ranges of Asymmetric Manufacturing Tolerances based on Structural Analysis for a Drone Wing

Ensuring safe and reliable flight performance stands as a paramount concern in the aircraft industry. In an era characterized by high-performance and intricate aircraft designs that cater to secure air transportation and advanced warfare capabilities, achieving this goal is extremely imperative. The phenomenon of aerodynamic asymmetry in aircraft revolves around a scenario when forces exerted on one side of the aircraft differ from those on the opposite side. Asymmetric aircraft manufacturing variations can have several structural effects on an aircraft. Asymmetric variations can result in uneven loading on the aircraft’s structure. This may lead to localized stress concentrations in certain areas of the wings or fuselage, potentially accelerating fatigue and reducing the overall structural lifespan of the aircraft. In this study, the structural effects of asymmetric manufacturing variations were examined on generic drone wings. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) modeling using parameterization of asymmetric geometries of the wing (span, chord length) followed by structural analysis using ANalysis SYStem (ANSYS) software is presented. A comparison of results between symmetric and asymmetric wings for the main load-carrying members of the drone wing (spars and ribs) is presented. The final step is the determination of acceptable ranges of wing asymmetric manufacturing variations based on the obtained stresses, inverse reserve factor, and deformation pattern.