Development of a toolchain for the conceptual design of fixed-wing VTOL UAVs

Abstract

This report presents the techniques and methods used to set up a toolchain for the automation of the conceptual design phase for a small, fixed-wing UAV with VTOL capabilities. The conceptual design is a phase in the design process of a UAV that heavily influences both the preliminary and detailed design that follows. The main challenge for the development of a conceptual design for a small, VTOL-capable UAV is the number of circular dependencies between the different components of the aircraft. A literature review is conducted to find existing methods to determine the required size and weight of the systems. A conceptual design toolchain using the Python programming language has been developed to determine the size and weight of the systems for a set of requirements, in the form of a toolchain in Python. Lastly, a verification process is conducted to ensure that the methods employed result in a realistically sized UAV.