Design and Fabrication of RC Paraglider

Project Title

Design and Fabrication of RC Paraglider

Project Area of Specialization Mechatronics EngineeringProject Summary

The aim of this project is to design, analyze and fabricate a radio-controlled paraglider for aerial seeding applications.

Pakistan is a forest poor country with natural forests covers at its lowest value of 1.9 percent of the total area of Pakistan. Rapid and large scale reforestation and afforestation initiatives are required for large scale ecosystem restoration and to fight adverse effects like global warming and climate changes.

We propose a novel idea of aerial seeding for rapid and large scale plantation aerially. Aerial seeding platform development is the major challenge and our project focuses on the development of robust and economical aerial seeding platforms with a focus on low operational cost, low development cost and ease of use. We plan to design and develop an RC paraglider. RC paraglide offers the following advantages as compared to a fixed-wing aircraft:

• It has a much low thrust to weight ratios
• Easy to manufacture
• Low manufacturing cost
• Easy to operate
• Easy to transport as its wing is not fixed and can be carried in a bag pack.
•  Low structural loads

Hence such a platform is ideal, low cost and will prove to be an efficient solution for large-scale ecosystem restoration.

Our project is divided into five different phases. The first phase is the design phase, during this phase we will design a parachute paraglider wing and cart, we will use SINGLE SKIN software for wing design and CATIA software to design cart. The second phase comprises of analysis phase during which we will perform CFD analysis of the wing, structural analysis of bogey and all the harnesses and attachments, CFD analysis of wing will be done in PARATAILOR software, whether the CFD and Structural analysis of cart will be done on ANSYS software. The third phase comprises of fabrication of RC paraglider, we will do the fabrication of the paraglider as designed in previous phases. The fourth phase is the flight testing phase, we will be doing flight tests and modify them accordingly to fulfill the design requirements. At last, fifth and final phase will comprise of the final fight test in which our RC paraglider will be fulfilling all the design requirements.

A brief working principle is described as follows, it would fly by generation of lift on wing and move and controlled by thrust and control mechanisms, installed on the cart. The speed would be controlled by rpm regulator, direction and angle of attack would be controlled by servo motors or simple motors using H-Bridge. This all would be done using a radio remote controller for input signals to perform required action. These signals would be received by a radio receiver on bogey, it would convert it into electrical signals and pass it to flight control board which will perform the required action according to the programmed code.

Project Objectives

Our aim is to design and fabricate a low-cost RC Paraglider which fulfils the following design requirements:

1) It would be able to carry a payload of almost 7-10 Kgs.

2) Flight time of almost an hour.

3) It would be able to fly up to an altitude of almost 150 ft.

4) Range of the Radio controller would be around 5 km.

Project Implementation Method

Methodology:

1) Weight estimation of all the components.

2) Parachute design according to design criteria and estimated weight.

3) Cart analysis (Engine mount, Components and payload attachment).

4) Engine sizing.

5) Design of control mechanisms.

6) CAD modeling.

7) Selection of components, market survey, and cost evaluation.

8) Designing fabrication plan.

9) Fabrication of cart (including control mechanism and components attachment).

10) Fabrication of parachute.

11) Harness attachment.

12) Assembling the final product.

Benefits of the Project

• Our RC paraglider will be used for aerial seeding for rapid and large scale plantation aerially.
• RC Paraglider will be used for various purposes like transporting medical kits and aids in disastrous areas.
• We choose RC paraglider over fixed-wing aircraft and Quadcopter/hexacopter because of its dynamic uses in various aspects.

Comparison with Quad/Hexa Copter

• RC Paraglider operates on a lesser thrust/weight ratio
• RC Paraglider can carry heavier payloads at the same amount of thrust given
• Design and Operating cost of RC Paraglider are far lesser
• The battery life of RC Paraglider is far better
• RC Paraglider requires fewer components e.g. Motors, Propellers, Batteries.

Comparison with Fixed Wing

• Shorter landing and take-off distances are required.
• Wing loading of RC Paraglider is much lesser.
• It’s easier to transport than the fixed-wing (even we can carry it in a bag).
• Weight of Paraglider is lesser.
• Easy controls.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deliverable would be a low-cost RC Para glider, which fulfills all the  following design requirements, along with its design:

1) It would be able to carry a payload of almost 7-10 Kgs.

2) Flight time of almost an hour.

3) It would be able to fly up to an altitude of almost 150 ft.

4) Range of the Radio controller would be around 5 km.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry OthersOther IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Industry, Innovation and InfrastructureRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	80000
Parachute material,	Equipment	10	500	5000
Fabricated wing	Equipment	1	30000	30000
high rpm motor	Equipment	2	1000	2000
arduino	Equipment	1	1000	1000
servos	Equipment	2	1000	2000
batteries	Equipment	4	2000	8000
propeller	Equipment	1	1000	1000
radio remote controller	Equipment	1	10000	10000
frame work for bogey	Equipment	1	10000	10000
strings or threads	Equipment	1	1000	1000
parachute sewing cost	Miscellaneous	1	5000	5000
manufacturing cart	Miscellaneous	1	5000	5000