Real-time Simulation of an Integrated Electrical system of a UAV

Vives College University and Kulab (KU Leuven University campus Ostend) in Belgium are undertaking an aeronautical research program about the development of a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Since the UAV is completely electrically powered, the analysis of the energy management of the integrated electrical system was critical to the development of the UAV. LMS, A Siemens Business, is involved in the project to support the development of a multi-physics simulation model for electro-thermal analysis of the aircraft. This paper reports on the subsequent investigation of integrating the detailed electrical system model for a Pilot-in-the-Loop simulation. In order to perform this simulation, the model of the electrical system was converted into a real-time simulation model. The aim was to perform more realistic flight simulations to evaluate the performance of the aircraft before its first flight by taking into account the electrical system's behavior. Furthermore, the behavior of the electrical system can be directly assessed during and after the Pilot-in-the-Loop tests. Additional research outcomes include the suitable level of detail of the electrical system that should be taken into account for Pilot-in-the-Loop simulations. The research outcome was evaluated with a number of simulations that assessed the effect of the electrical system model. It was concluded that the proposed simulation architecture is suitable to take into account the effect of the electrical system on the aircraft flight dynamics.