This work presents the design, manufacturing, and numerical analysis of winglets for an unmanned aerial vehicle developed for the Design/Build/Fly competition. The preliminary design phase evaluated 108 different configurations, with aerodynamic data obtained using a potential flow solver Flow5. To ensure a consistent comparison, a custom software code called VETR was developed, while CFD simulations in Ansys Fluent were used to validate the acquired data against previous analyses. The detailed design phase aimed to select the optimal blending radius, airfoil, and tip twist angle. The results show that the optimized winglet improved aerodynamic efficiency, which was the primary optimization parameter, across the entire analysed envelope. Despite certain discrepancies, we demonstrated that the panel method is suitable for the initial stages of the design process; however, utilizing computational fluid dynamics software remains essential for more reliable results and a deeper insight into the flow field characteristics. Finally, recommendations for the implementation of the new software and potential improvements for conducting CFD simulations are provided.
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