Design and Development of a Vehicle-Mounted Test Apparatus for Investigating the Aerodynamics of UAV Components

During the development of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the ability to experimentally test individual aerodynamic components, such as wings and fuselage sections, is essential for identifying key design characteristics and optimising the configuration prior to full-scale flight testing. However, conducting such experiments within laboratory environments becomes increasingly challenging as component dimensions approach or exceed the capacity of available wind tunnel facilities. Field-based testing using a mobile, instrumented platform offers a practical alternative for evaluating medium to large-scale aerodynamic components under controlled conditions.

The wind tunnel at the University of Moratuwa has a test section of approximately 450 mm × 450 mm, which restricts the testing of UAV components with comparable or larger dimensions. To overcome this long-standing limitation, a vehicle-mounted test apparatus capable of measuring aerodynamic loads on larger components was designed and developed. The development process was executed in multiple phases, with each phase followed by extensive field testing and iterative design refinements to enhance the accuracy, robustness, and usability of the apparatus.

This ongoing research project aims to strengthen the field-testing capabilities of the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory at the University of Moratuwa by developing a fully in-house, adaptable apparatus for UAV component testing. Comprehensive details of the project and its outcomes will be published upon the commissioning of the apparatus.