Weight reduction of an unmanned aerial vehicle pylon fitting by topology optimization and additive manufacturing with electron beam melting

Abstract

The operating altitude of unmanned aerial vehicles can be affected by many parameters. Lightening the structural parts to achieve target altitude is one of the design efforts. Weight reduction can be achieved by converting primary and secondary structures from metallic to carbon composite material. In addition, some secondary structures, such as fittings, have to be produced metallic and usually made of aluminum alloys. In addition to the weight disadvantage, aluminum alloys have galvanic incompatibility with carbon composite materials. At this point, additive manufacturing methods offer solutions with a combination of topology optimization. Complex geometries obtained from topology optimization can be easily manufactured by additive manufacturing methods during weight reduction campaigns of unmanned aerial vehicles such as fittings. In this study, the pylon fitting of an unmanned aerial vehicle is lightened by the topology optimization method using commercial software with an engineering approach. The resulting complex geometry is produced as Ti-6Al-4V by the Electron Beam Melting additive manufacturing method. As a result of the campaign, a fitting design that is both lightweight and galvanic compatible with carbon composite primary structures has emerged. In this way, an engineering approach has been developed for weight reduction campaigns.