X100Construction; Composition; Load Capability - Gatewing X100UAS System Manual

X100 system series

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Entry

3.3

X100construction

X100 materials

3.3.1

The main wing material is EPP foam that is supported with a carbon-frame structure that is

placed inside the mold during production of the foam wing. It is a mono-wing. The part is

produced by a supplier specialized in making EPP foam parts. The frame inside the wing

ensures that wing deformation due to torsion or bending forces are minimal. The frame and

tape on the wing also greatly limits the occurrence of fractures of the EPP (e.g. after landing)

and their impact on structural integrity. Small fractures can occur occasionally as EPP is

exceptionally resilient in coping with pressure forces but less in coping with pull forces. The

wing vertical fins and elevons are carbon parts (made by suppliers using jet cutting and hand

layup respectively). The motor housing and many other parts are molded or printed plastics.

3.3.2

The wing has been designed to withstand a 15 g launch acceleration (experimentally tested),

wing handling forces and landing impacts (both from experience learned during hundreds of

flights) that are a multiple of inflight flight loads. This is achieved by having an EPP structure

with an internal carbon frame and rigid, carbon elevonds. Actual flight loads are limited by a

commanded bank angle limitation (of 30 degrees), which corresponds to a load factor 1.2 and

early tests with much higher load factors did not show any structural issue.

Regarding flutter: During the +2000 flights, no aeroelastic instabilities were observed. Due to

the relative high stiffness of the wing (internal carbon frame) in comparison to the mass of the

wing itself (EPP structure) and the low inertia forces of the wing in comparison to the aerody-

namic forces, flutter has no chance to occur. Besides this, it should be noted that the EPP

structure dampens any bending motion.

2.0

X100 parts

X100construction

Leading edge of the wing

Trailing edge of the wing

— 23 —

Zone

12 October 2012

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