Low cost development of a nonlinear simulation for a flexible uninhabited air vehicle

The development of a nonlinear simulation environment for an uninhabited air vehicle with a flexible airframe is presented. Simple, yet efficient testing procedures are employed to estimate the physical properties of the aircraft. The aerodynamic forces and moments are obtained using a doublet lattice method. The interaction between structural dynamics and aerodynamics is given special attention from a modeling standpoint. The simulation is finally integrated into the existing simulation infrastructure maintained by the research group. A modular approach is emphasized in the simulation build-up, which allows for easy switching between models.