This study investigates the structural performance of a polyaryletherketone (PAEK)-based thermoplastic composite wing leading-edge design for the ASNLQ-218 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A complete finite element (FE) model of the wing, tail-strut and tail assembly was developed based on the UAV’s modular airframe configuration, in which the leading-edge skin employs T800 thermoplastic carbon-fiber laminates combined with foam-core sandwich structures. Static strength verification under aerodynamic loading was conducted to evaluate the deformation, stress, and strain characteristics of the entire assembly. The results show that the maximum deformation of the wing structure is 158.9 mm (5.57% of the half-span), and the leading edge exhibits a torsional angle of only 1.03°, both within the allowable design limits. The peak stress occurs at the wing fuselage joint (185.2 MPa) and the maximum strains on the upper and lower skins are 3285 µε and 3023 µε, respectively, confirming adequate stiffness and structural safety. The close agreement between the model reaction forces and theoretical loads (error ≈ 2%) validates the accuracy of the load application and FE modelling. These results demonstrate the feasibility of applying thermoplastic composite materials to primary UAV aerodynamic structures, providing an efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional thermoset-based designs, and establishing a foundation for future lightweight and modular UAV development.
Yang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.
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