Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review

Elif Erol; Eren Saldırıcı; Kürşat Tanrıver; Mine Ak

doi:10.53525/jster.1860131

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İHA Kanatlarının Havacılık Tasarımı ve İmalatı: Sistematik Bir İnceleme

Öz

Bu sistematik inceleme, İnsansız Hava Aracı (İHA) kanat tasarımının çok disiplinli optimizasyon problemini sentezlemeyi amaçlamaktadır ve özellikle uzun süreli dayanıklılık görevleri için tasarlanan yüksek en-boy oranlı (>15) kanatlarda aerodinamik verimliliği en üst düzeye çıkarmak ve yapısal ağırlığı en aza indirmek arasındaki çelişkili gereksinimleri ele almaktadır. Tasarım/yöntemler/yaklaşım: Son 15 yılda yapılan toplam 39 çalışma, tasarımdan üretime döngüsündeki sistemik boşlukları belirlemek için Hesaplamalı Akışkanlar Dinamiği (CFD), Sonlu Elemanlar Analizi (FEA) ve ileri üretim teknolojilerini kapsayan entegre bir bakış açısıyla eleştirel bir şekilde analiz edildi. Bulgular/sonuçlar: Araştırma, NACA 4412 kanat profilini, sürtünmeyi %50'ye kadar arttırdığı gösterilen Laminer Ayırma Balonu (LSB) fenomenine karşı üstün direnci nedeniyle düşük Reynolds sayısı rejimleri için birincil referans geometrisi olarak tanımlamaktadır. Ayrıca, analiz mevcut literatürdeki kritik bir modelleme eksikliğini ortaya çıkarmaktadır: yaygın "rijit kanat" varsayımı, esnek yapılardaki aeroelastik negatif bükülme (silme) etkisini ihmal etmekte, bu da yaklaşık %7'lik sistematik kaldırma fazla tahmin hatasına yol açmaktadır. Üretimle ilgili olarak çalışma, katmanlı üretim yoluyla üretilen topoloji açısından optimize edilmiş yapılarda Z ekseni anizotropinin %50'ye kadar önemli yapısal güç azalmalarına yol açtığını vurgulamaktadır. Sonuçlar: İnceleme, geleneksel sıralı tasarım paradigmalarının yetersiz olduğu sonucuna varmıştır; Başarılı İHA gelişimi, yalnızca dijital simülasyon ile fiziksel atölye gerçekleri arasındaki ölçülebilir boşluğu etkili bir şekilde kapatmak için aerodinamik, yapısal ve üretim kısıtlamalarının eş zamanlı olarak yürütüldüğü "Entegre Tasarım (Ortak Tasarım)" yaklaşımıyla başarılabilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Düşük Reynolds Sayısı Aerodinamiği , Eklemeli İmalat , İHA Kanat Tasarımı , Laminer Ayırma Balonu , Topoloji Optimizasyonu

Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review aims to synthesize the multi-disciplinary optimization problem of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) wing design, specifically addressing the conflicting requirements between maximizing aerodynamic efficiency and minimizing structural weight in high-aspect-ratio (>15) wings intended for long-endurance missions. Design/methods/approach: A total of 39 studies from the last 15 years were critically analyzed through an integrated perspective encompassing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and advanced manufacturing technologies to identify systemic gaps in the design-to-production cycle. Findings/results: The investigation identifies the NACA 4412 airfoil as a primary reference geometry for low Reynolds number regimes due to its superior resistance to the Laminar Separation Bubble (LSB) phenomenon, which is shown to increase drag by up to 50%. Furthermore, the analysis reveals a critical modeling deficiency in current literature: the widespread "rigid wing" assumption neglects the aeroelastic negative twist (washout) effect in flexible structures, leading to a systematic lift overestimation error of approximately 7%. Regarding manufacturing, the study highlights that Z-axis anisotropy in topology-optimized structures produced via additive manufacturing leads to significant structural strength reductions of up to 50%. Conclusions: The review concludes that traditional sequential design paradigms are insufficient; successful UAV development is only achievable through an "Integrated Design (Co-Design)" approach where aerodynamic, structural, and manufacturing constraints are conducted concurrently to effectively bridge the quantifiable gap between digital simulation and physical workshop realities.

Keywords

Low Reynolds Number Aerodynamics , Additive Manufacturing , UAV Wing Design , Laminar Separation Bubble , Topology Optimization

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Mechanical Engineering (Other)

Journal Section

Review Article

Authors

Elif Erol ^*
0009-0005-9805-1360
Türkiye

Eren Saldırıcı
0009-0001-4561-1994
Türkiye

Kürşat Tanrıver
0000-0002-1723-4108
Türkiye

Mine Ak
0000-0003-1131-5529
Türkiye

Publication Date

April 16, 2026

Submission Date

January 9, 2026

Acceptance Date

February 28, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.53525/jster.1860131

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA43CM59YG

APA

Erol, E., Saldırıcı, E., Tanrıver, K., & Ak, M. (2026). Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research, 1. https://doi.org/10.53525/jster.1860131

AMA

1.Erol E, Saldırıcı E, Tanrıver K, Ak M. Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research. 2026;(1). doi:10.53525/jster.1860131

Chicago

Erol, Elif, Eren Saldırıcı, Kürşat Tanrıver, and Mine Ak. 2026. “Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review”. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.53525/jster.1860131.

EndNote

Erol E, Saldırıcı E, Tanrıver K, Ak M (April 1, 2026) Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research 1

IEEE

[1]E. Erol, E. Saldırıcı, K. Tanrıver, and M. Ak, “Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review”, Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research, no. 1, Apr. 2026, doi: 10.53525/jster.1860131.

ISNAD

Erol, Elif - Saldırıcı, Eren - Tanrıver, Kürşat - Ak, Mine. “Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review”. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research. 1 (April 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.53525/jster.1860131.

JAMA

1.Erol E, Saldırıcı E, Tanrıver K, Ak M. Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research. 2026. doi:10.53525/jster.1860131.

MLA

Erol, Elif, et al. “Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review”. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research, no. 1, Apr. 2026, doi:10.53525/jster.1860131.

Vancouver

1.Elif Erol, Eren Saldırıcı, Kürşat Tanrıver, Mine Ak. Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review. Journal of Science, Technology and Engineering Research. 2026 Apr. 1;(1). doi:10.53525/jster.1860131

Studies published in the journal are licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) International License.

İHA Kanatlarının Havacılık Tasarımı ve İmalatı: Sistematik Bir İnceleme

Öz

Anahtar Kelimeler

Aerostructural Design and Manufacturing of UAV Wings: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Keywords

References

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Submission Date

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Published in Issue

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