Conceptual Design and Sizing of LiDAR-Equipped Solar-Powered HALE UAV for Coastal Surveillance in India

Solar-powered high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicles can be utilized for a variety of aerial surveillance applications. This chapter presents the key outcomes of a study involving conceptual design and sizing of such a UAV for collection of data using LiDAR, while flying over some ground stations located near the coastline of India. This UAV was designed to meet the requirements of geologists for their scientific studies of the coastal habitats over a period of time. The design methodology involves an iterative process resulting in a converged solution to meet the mission requirements. A CAD model of the UAV was created using the OpenVSP tool developed by NASA, and utilized to arrive at estimates of wetted area and drag polar. It was seen that the designed UAV was able to meet all the specified operational and mission requirements.