Design, manufacturing and testing of a HALE-UAV

structural demonstrator
G. Frulla, E. Cestino
*
Politecnico di Torino, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Available online 18 April 2007
Abstract
Some main activities have been developed as part of the HELINET research project which was nanced in January 2000, by the Euro-
pean Commission, (Fifth Framework Program in the IST action), to develop a European project in the eld of stratospheric platforms.
From the aeronautical point of view the following items were studied: (1) the design of an autonomous high altitude long-endurance
unmanned air vehicle (HALE-UAV) platform capable of remaining aloft for very long periods of time (between 6 and 9 months) using
a solar-powered and fuel cell system and to gain a complete understanding of the feasibility of a near-term aerodynamic HALE concept,
in particular as far as stratospheric platforms are concerned (mainly dependent on high eciency and reliability of solar cells, fuel cells
and electric motors), (2) an evaluation of the production and service costs and an assessment of the safety and regulatory aspects of the
platform, and (3) the manufacturing of a scale-sized technological demonstrator and the execution of static tests on it up to the ultimate
load. The rst HELIPLAT

(HELIos PLATform) conguration was worked out, on the basis of a preliminary parametric study. The
platform was a twin-boom tail type monoplane with eight brushless motors, a long horizontal stabilizer and two rudders. A scaled-pro-
totype was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of this conguration and to perform some structural static and dynamic tests on it. The
main CFRP structures were manufactured by CASA (Spain): the principal wing and horizontal tail tubular spars, booms, vertical tail
spars and some reinforced ribs. These parts were delivered to the Aerospace Engineering Dept. (DIASP) at the Politecnico di Torino
(POLITO) and assembled using special joints while some other necessary parts were manufactured by POLITO-DIASP. A parallel activ-
ity was performed to dene the structural test congurations and structural test frame. The manufacturing activities and the development
of the structural test system is described in the rst part of the paper. Static and dynamic experimental tests were performed in two phases
(2003 and 2004) on the prototype and the results of the static tests are presented in this paper and compared with numerical and the-
oretical computations.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Carbon-bre; Assembly; Finite element analysis (FEA); Mechanical testing
1. Introduction
A research was carried out at the Politecnico di Torino,
with the aim of designing a HALE-UAV solar-powered
platform and manufacturing a scale-sized solar-powered
prototype. The rst limited nancial support was obtained
from the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in 1995 [1]. Only a
small part of the research was completed but a great
amount of experience was gained in this eld [16]. The
HELINET research project (Network of stratospheric plat-
forms for trac monitoring, environmental surveillance
and broadband services, Coordinator: Politecnico di Tor-
ino) has been nanced by the European Commission, since
January 2000, as a part of the 5th Framework Program in
the Information Society Technology Action, to develop a
European project in the eld of stratospheric platforms.
The HELINET project, which involves several European
universities and partner companies, is based on HALE-
UAV HELIPLAT

[6]. The main objectives of the 3-year

project, from the aeronautical point of view, were:
0263-8223/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2007.04.008
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 011 5646842; fax: +39 011 5646899.
E-mail addresses: giacomo.frulla@polito.it (G. Frulla), enrico.cesti-
no@polito.it (E. Cestino).
www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
1. To design an automatic HALE-UAV that is capable of
remaining aloft for very long periods of time (about 69
months) thanks to a solar-powered and fuel cell system.
2. To gain a complete understanding of the feasibility of a
near-term aerodynamic HALE concept, especially con-
cerning low-Reynolds proles and propellers.
3. To design the entire advanced composite wing (about
75 m long), payload housing, booms and tail structures.
4. To verify the production costs of each platform.
5. To manufacture a 1:3 scale-sized technological demon-
strator and perform static tests on it.
6. To assess the safety and regulatory aspects of the
platform.
Details of the project can be found in the cited references
[57], and only a summary is given here. There is currently
a large request for automatic high altitude (1725 km) y-
ing platforms capable of remaining aloft for very long peri-
ods of time [HALE/UAV]. They could play the role of
articial satellites, with the advantage of being much
cheaper, closer to the ground and more exible. They could
in fact be self-launched and be easily recovered for mainte-
nance, whenever necessary, and could be moved to cover
dierent regions if necessary. The missions of such plat-
forms would cover a very large eld of applications: atmo-
spheric pollution control and meteorological monitoring,
real-time monitoring of seismic-risk areas, coastal surveil-
lance, telecommunication services such as cellulartele-
phone networks, video-surveillance, photogrammetry,
hydrographical monitoring systems, agriculture monitor-
ing and so on. Several types of high altitude solar-powered
platforms (HASP) were designed in the past [16,10,11]. A
fuel cell system and a brushless motor and solar cell system
are being designed by the Department of Energy and the
Department of Electrical Engineering at our University,
respectively. The aim of this paper concerns point 5 in
the list of the main objectives.
2. Scaled-size prototype design and manufacturing
A scaled-size technological demonstrator was prelimin-
ary designed, with the aim of obtaining a structural and
technological proof-of-concept aircraft [6,8,9,1214]. The
nal structural project of the full-scale platform was
designed and built with the same technologies and on the
basis of the scaled-prototype test results. Taking the preli-
minary HeliPlat conguration [6,7], with its oversized hor-
izontal tail span as a reference point in the design of the
scaled-prototype, the wing and tail spans were reduced to
1:3 of their nal HeliPlat dimensions and the chord wise
dimensions to about 1:2 , while the thickness and the layout
of the dierent elements were kept the same as the real con-
guration. The overall architecture of the scaled-size proto-
type and particular sections of the wing, horizontal tail,
and booms are plotted in Fig. 1. The total aircraft weight
is about 312 kg with a wing surface of about 27 m
2
and a
span of 24 m. The HeliPlat applied loads, including both
manoeuvre and gust (resultant bending, torsion moments
and resultant shear), take into account the eective aerody-
namic and mass distributions according to the JAR-VLA
airworthiness requirements. A maximum design strain level
of 1000 le would guarantee the integrity of the structure up
to the ultimate loads. The cross-section of the wing was
dened in detail according to the preliminary structural
design program and FE comparison. The wing and hori-
zontal tail spars are made of dierent materials and have
dierent layouts (20/0
n
/45/core)
s
in order to intro-
duce a level of optimization inside the iterative calculations
(Fig. 2). CFRP (M55J/epoxy) data were introduced with
reference to a lamina thickness of 0.135 mm and a density
of 1580 kg/m
3
. The inertial loads (structural and non struc-
tural) were estimated and taken into account according to
the preliminary conguration design. An estimate of the
expected wing weight of the single components are
reported: covering 10.8 kg, wing main spar 36.5 kg (super-
Fig. 1. Heliplat

scaled-size structural conguration; construction details.

144 G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
position and reinforcements included), ribs 4.3 kg, rear
spar 6.5 kg, and special ttings 14.5 kg.
3. Manufacturing and assembling activity
3.1. Wing: manufacturing and technological feasibility
The cross-section of the wing is plotted in Fig. 1. The
main graphite/epoxy tubular spar should be able to carry
all of the shear/bending/torsion loads applied to the wing,
while the leading edge and trailing ribs have (in most cases)
a prole shape function and were manufactured in very
light rigid foam (Rohacell 51, with a density of 0.051 kg/
dm
3
) bonded to the spar. The leading edge between the
two booms consists of a hand lay-up glass bre sandwich
panel. The scaled wing structure can be divided into a
11.2 m long constant chord inner-wing and two 6.57 m
long tapered chord outer wings, one for each side. The con-
stant chord wing part consists of two inner-wing tubular
spar elements, each 4.18 m long, connect to a 4.2 m cen-
tre-wing-box. The inner-wing-boxes enter the centre one
for a distance of 0.44 m and are joined by two pairs of bolts
(one on the front and one on the rear web, as in Fig. 6). A
series of specic metal reinforcements were designed in
order to reinforce the joint position between the dierent
tubular spars and to allow easy assembling and deployment
of the scaled-prototype. Dierent joint shapes were dened
in correspondence to the specic joint position and tube
dimension taking into consideration the dierence of each
local curvature and thickness. The design of these special
junctions was dedicated to dealing with the problem of
bearing in CFRP. A good result was obtained, as shown
in Refs. [4,10,11] . A typical joint system is reported in
Fig. 3. The joints shown in Fig. 3 are in the connection
zone between the centre-wing-box and inner-wing-box.
Two 6.57 m long parts make up the tapered sections, which
are connected in a similar way. The main spar is composed
of sandwich reinforced tubes made of M55J graphite/epoxy
pre-preg tape and Korex or Nomex honeycomb materials.
The tools were made of aluminium and were slightly coni-
cal to allow for demoulding. Tools for an autoclave cannot
be massive and the tool was positioned on a at beam to
avoid deformation of the parts due to deection. Dierent
steps of the process, such as the core lay-up positioning and
0 layering were performed by CASA and are explained in
Ref. [15]. Each tubular spar was autoclave cured at 120 C
and 0.3 MPa pressure in a single-cure cycle. The eective
and local dimensions and lay-up of these elements are plot-
ted in Fig. 4.
Some of the ribs were bonded to the tubular spars in the
indicated positions, particularly in correspondence to the
ttings and engine mounts. Carbon-bre-reinforced foam
ribs were mounted onto some sections, as plotted by rr
in Fig. 1, while special carbon-bre-reinforced plastic
(CFRP) honeycomb ribs were mounted in correspondence
to the ttings between the several wing spars and, above
all, in correspondence to the booms. All of the ribs were
bonded to the spars with a micro-sphere-reinforced glass
epoxy. The CFRP wing-boxes were manufactured using
M55J graphite/epoxy pre-preg tape. This high-modulus
graphite bre greatly increases the wing exural stiness
and reduces the wing tip deection at the maximum applied
limit load. The lamina used to design the wing-boxes have
the following main mechanical properties:
E
1
279:3 GPa; E
2
5:84 GPa; G
12
4:05 GPa, m
12

0:36; r
t1R
1036 MPa; r
c1R
381 MPa; e
t1R
0:37%;
and q 1:58 kg=dm
3
. The lay-up of each portion of the sin-
gle tube was chosen by introducing the previously mentioned
mechanical properties into the structural design computer
program and it can be seen in the corresponding drawings.
Fig. 2. Sandwich tube layout denition.
Fig. 3. Main spar special ttings.
G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153 145
3.2. Horizontal and vertical tail: manufacturing and
technological feasibility
The scaled horizontal tail structure consists of a 11.2 m
long constant chord element (Fig. 1). It was manufactured
in three pieces: the 4.0 m long inner part and two 3.9 m
long outer parts. The cross-section consists of a main
CFRP sandwich tubular spar that can carry all the shear/
bending/torsion loads applied to the horizontal tail. A sec-
ondary CFRP rear spar was positioned aft of the main one
so as to have a suitable structural support for the elevator
systems. The leading and trailing ribs were manufactured
in very light rigid foam and were bonded to the box. The
scaled double vertical tail structure consists of a 1.685 m
long tubular spar for each tail, with an 88 mm external
diameter circular cross-section. The two spars were made
of a CFRP sandwich construction, using M55J graphite/
epoxy pre-preg tape and Nomex honeycomb.
3.3. Boom: manufacturing and technological feasibility
The scaled boom-structure consists of a 5.98 m long
tapered tubular member, with a circular 235 mm diameter
cross-section near the wing-box and a 150 mm diameter
cross-section in correspondence to the vertical tail junction.
The 235 mm diameter cross-section is constant up to a dis-
tance of 2.55 m from the wing-box. The two booms were
made of a CFRP sandwich construction, using M55J graph-
ite/epoxy pre-preg tape and Nomex honeycomb. A special
connection, based on the introduction of a structural rib,
was designed to join the boomto the wing-box. The junction
is reported in Fig. 5 and is made up of three elements: the rst
(in correspondence to the wing-box spar) is a specically
shaped plate connected to the spar with specials joints (as
reported); the second (positioned at 0.7 m aft of the wing-
box spar) consists of a pin-bolted connection; and the third
was positioned in correspondence to the rear spar.
3.4. Verication of the delivered CFRP parts and metal
tting
A preliminary verication activity was performed on the
CFRP parts and delivered metal ttings. The dierent
tubular CFRP parts received from CASA were subjected
to a specic identication phase, in order to check the
external dimensions (overall, diameters, thickness etc.)
and to verify the correspondence of the joints and metal t-
ting positions. A series of measurements was performed.
Fig. 4. Heliplat

wing main spar dimensions.

Fig. 5. Wingboom special tting.
146 G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
The diameters and lengths were determined, compared to
the expected ones, and used in order to dene the connec-
tion joints and their bonding. Some details that did not cor-
respond to the delivered drawings were detected and are
summarized as follow: (1) the reinforced ribs did not have
a perfect correspondence to the drawings; (2) the aft part of
the booms was missed and a new joint position, that was
dierent from that of the design, was determined before
assembling. The vertical tailboom-join was moved back
by about 230 mm and the main wingboom-join by about
300 mm in order to maintain the focal distance between the
wing and the horizontal tail as unchanged as possible; (3)
the tubular spars showed some wrinkles and (4) the holes
in the horizontal tail external tubes were rotated by 90.
In this way, the spar caps become positioned in the neutral
axis and thus change the structural behaviour of the tail
drastically. All the weights of the dierent parts were deter-
mined to compare them with the expected ones and to
dene a well behaved analytical model for the static test
comparison. The measured thickness showed a slightly dif-
ferent mean ply thickness from the theoretical value of
0.135 mm. The theoretical model was modied introducing
the measured lamina thickness and an M55j density of
1680 kg/m
3
.
3.5. Scaled-size prototype assembly
CASA Espacio Spain EADS made each of the CFRP
elements of the complete structure (wing, horizontal and
vertical tail tubular spars and reinforced ribs, booms), plus
the metal ttings by machine manufacturing. The Depart-
ment of Aerospace Engineering (Politecnico di Torino)
assembled the various structural components (wing, hori-
zontal and vertical tails, booms), as well as the entire air-
craft. The assembling was performed by the Italian
company ARCHEMIDE Advanced Composites, under
the supervision, and with the collaboration of, the platform
design and testing group at the Politecnico di Torino. After
all the dierent parts had been positioned in their proper
places so as to dene the bonding tree for the junction, they
were bonded to the main wing spar (Fig. 6). A rear tubular
spar was manufactured by ARCHEMIDE to complete the
wing and tail structures. A reinforced leading edge was
designed and manufactured for the centre part of the wing
to increase torsional stiness (Fig. 6). The lifting surface
was then completed through the positioning of a covering
skin.
4. Static test activities
Static and dynamic tests are required by airworthiness
regulations during an airplane certication process. In the
past, static tests were performed by applying wing loads
using sand bags or metal bricks. If a high quality level of
test is required, or load conditions are very complex to
reproduce, this method presents many problems and it is
preferred to use alternative solutions. During the testing
phase, the airplane is usually supported on xtures, and
high-performance servo hydraulic actuators are used to
push and pull on certain areas. Strain gauges are attached
to these areas and the information is passed via cable to
computers. Static and fatigue tests can be performed apply-
ing loads by means of rigid whietrees or enforced dis-
placements at the hinges to simulate, for example,
horizontal stabilizer deections. The main problem in
reproducing a load condition on an isolated part of an air-
craft concerns the realization of the constraint between the
airplane and the xed test structure. The connection must
reproduce the real connection as much as possible. Static
tests were carried out on the whole Heliplat

scaled-size
prototype. A static test on the complete model was consid-
ered to be more meaningful than several tests on each ele-
Fig. 6. Assembling activity.
G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153 147
ment of the structure because several interaction eects can
arise when the dierent elements are tested while
assembled:
(1) The booms were simultaneously subjected to loads
applied by the wing as well as by the horizontal and
vertical tails. It would be very dicult to isolate the
former without introducing some simplications,
which do not represent the proper boundary
conditions.
(2) The highest applied loads on the wing derive from the
horizontal tail during a pull-up manoeuvre. (D-D1)
(3) The behaviour of the horizontal tail is greatly inu-
enced by the constraints on the vertical tail.
Mechanical equipment was designed and manufactured
to perform a shearbendingtorsion test on the complete
scaled-size prototype and verify the theoretical behaviour.
A steel supporting structure was dened and manufactured
by POLITO in order to sustain the scaled-prototype. The
tree-beam systems and the hydraulic jack are shown in
Fig. 7. The purpose of the tree-beam systems is to reach
the dened loading conditions during tests. Beams were
connected by steel chains to avoid spurious loads during
the test. Two trolleys were used to support the tree-beam
system and the position was adapted according to the
scaled behaviour. A dummy fuselage was designed to apply
the expected loads to the centre of the model. A general
view of the testing system is reported in Fig. 7. The distri-
bution of the load, according to the described behaviour,
was obtained using a hydraulic jack and a system of levers
connected to eight loading stations on the wing. Strain
gauges and transducers were mounted along the wing
and the horizontal tail main spars, to estimate deforma-
tions and wing deection. JAR-VLA 333 concerns on-ight
envelope denition. Compliance to the strength require-
ments of this subpart must be shown at any combination
of airspeed and load factor on and within the boundaries
of a ight envelope that represents the envelope of the
ight loading conditions specied by the manoeuvring
and gust criteria of sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of this par-
agraph, respectively. The selected ight airspeeds are
dened by JAR-VLA 335. Limiting manoeuvring load fac-
tors are dened by JAR-VLA-337 (a) and (b). The scaled-
prototype design was drawn up according to the Italian
RAI-UAV 337: n
min
and n
max
are shown in Table 1. For
Point A1 and A tests, the horizontal tail balancing load
necessary to maintain equilibrium in any specied ight
condition with no pitching acceleration, was computed
according to JAR-VLA-421 and simulated through weights
positioned on the boom. During the shear/bending tests on
the wing, in stationary ight conditions at the A1, A and D
points, the loads on the booms, on the jack and the reac-
tion on the beams, vary linearly. The ultimate load was cal-
culated as 1.5 times the D load point of the ight envelope
diagram (representative the limit load condition). The tree-
beam system was designed to obtain the desired bending
moment behaviour. The A1, A and D condition loads were
dierent but still proportional, so the same tree-beam sys-
tem can be used to simulate them. The theoretical and sim-
ulated shear and bending moment acting on the scaled
wing in the D condition are reported in Fig. 8. JAR-VLA
423 indicates that each horizontal tail surface must be
Fig. 7. Testing system.
Table 1
Load factors
Regulation Max value Min value
JAR-VLA n
max
3:8 n
min
1:5
RAI-UAV n
max
3 n
min
1
Fig. 8. Theoretical and applied loads at D condition.
148 G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
designed to manoeuvre loads imposed under several condi-
tions. The rst step is to compute the horizontal tail load
increment (Eq. (1)), due to a sudden deection of the eleva-
tor which would cause the normal acceleration to change
from an initial value to a nal value. The aeroplane is ini-
tially in level ight, and its altitude and airspeed do not
change; the loads are balanced by inertia forces and the
aerodynamic tail load increment is given by :
DL
HT
DnMg
X
CG
l
t

S
HT
S
a
HT
a
1
de
da

q
0
2
S
HT
a
HT
l
t
M

1
where Dn is the load factor increment, M is the mass of the
airplane in kg, g is the acceleration due to gravity, X
CG
is
the longitudinal distance of the aeroplane centre of gravity
aft of the aerodynamic centre of the aeroplane less the hor-
izontal tail (m), S and S
HT
are the horizontal tail area and
wing surface, respectively (m
2
), a and a
HT
are the slope of
the wing and the horizontal tail lift curve per radiant,
de
da
is
the rate of change of the downwash angle with the angle of
attack, l
HT
is the tail arm and q
0
is the density of air at sea-
level (kg/m
3
). In the case of the scaled-prototype, the high-
est applied loads on the wing derive from the (D-D1)
manoeuvre when the airplane is ying at V
D
and experienc-
ing a load factor increment of Dn 2 passing from a D
condition where the load factor is 3, to D1 where n = 1.
The theoretical and applied loads on the leverage system
for the D-D1 manoeuvre are reported Fig. 9. In (D-D1)
manoeuvring conditions, the wing loads are not propor-
tional to the stationary ight conditions, but they can be
still simulated via the same tree-beam system used in the
previous cases.
5. Static test results
A rst experimental test activity was performed in 2003.
Various tests were considered in dierent conditions: wing
bending/shear in the D condition, horizontal tail bending/
shear in the D-D1 condition and wing bending/shear/tor-
sion in the D-D1 condition. The maximum load reached
during this rst test was reduced in order to perform the
dierent conditions and to avoid unexpected failure during
the tests. In so doing, various conditions had to be com-
pared with the calculations to validate the preliminary
design program and numerical models. This activity
proved useful for the full-scale design. The bending test
on the wing was conducted loading the wing with the
described system, until the A load condition of the
manoeuvre diagram (cruise speed = 58 km/h and
n = 2.5 g), and 50% of the manoeuvring load (D-D1: from
D point where V = 82 km/h and n = 3 to D1 where
V = 82 km/h, n = 1 and Dn = 2) were reached. Strain
gauges and transducers were mounted along the main spar
of the wing in order to estimate the deformations and the
wing deection (Fig. 10). The strain gauges were mounted
longitudinally in correspondence to the main spar caps: the
odd numbers indicate the SG located along the upper cap,
while the even ones are on the lower cap. The strain and
displacement results for the A condition are reported in
Fig. 12a and b. A good correlation between the tests, the
Fig. 9. Theoretical and applied loads at D-D1 condition.
Fig. 10. Wing strain gauges distribution and wing transducers position.
G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153 149
theoretical and the FE analysis was obtained. Static tests
were also performed in manoeuvring conditions with
increasing loads until 50% of the manoeuvring D-D1 con-
dition was reached. The experimental deection is shown in
Fig. 11 compared with the FEA deection in the D-D1
condition, and a maximum tip deection of about
764 mm resulted. Manoeuvring is a combined bending/tor-
sion test. During this test, the wing torsion moment due to
the horizontal tail load was simulated by applying a weight
of about 12.5 kg on every boom at a distance from the wing
spar of about 2780 mm. The results, in terms of strains and
deection, are also reported in Fig. 12c and d. A bending
test on the horizontal tail was also performed, with a max-
imum load of 100 kg (50% D-D1 condition) along the HT
span. In order to perform the test, the HT was suspended
from the extremities. The deformations were determined
from strain gauges mounted longitudinally along the HT
main spar lower cap (see Fig. 13). The deections were
Fig. 11. FE and experimental results at D-D1 condition.
Fig. 12. 2003 tests results.
Fig. 13. Horizontal tail strain gages position and loads position.
150 G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
measured using a metric stick (Fig. 13). The load stations
are displayed in Fig. 13b. Each station was loaded with
10 kg , using a local suspended weight . The displacement
and strain comparison is shown in Fig. 14. The strain
results show an increase in strain for the outer HT spar.
Some important dierences from the design were in fact
determined in that position consisting of the wrong posi-
tioning of the spar itself due to the wrong location of the
tting holes as previously indicated. The load was not
increased any further in order to prevent reaching failure
in the tail.
A second test activity was performed in 2004. The
tested ight conditions were: 100% D-D1 manoeuvre, ulti-
mate load at the D point (computed as 1.5 the D Point
limit load), torsion test and static failure test. The D-D1
test showed a good repeatability compared to the 2003
test. Slight dierences occurred which probably due to a
dierent application of the 154 N boom weight which sim-
ulated the HT load in this condition. During the 2003
tests, the boom weight was applied to the boom at a dis-
tance of 2780 mm from the wingboom joint location.
During the 2004 tests, a dierent solution was adopted
in order to have a safer boom load carriage zone. In
2004, the boom weight was applied directly to the
wingboom joint location using a back-pulley system.
At 100%, the D-D1 load resultant was about 4159 N.
The results are reported in Fig. 15a and b. The D point
test was performed until ultimate load where the total
hydraulic-jack load was about 3658 N and the boom
weight about 1130 N. In this condition, the structure
was able to support the ultimate load without failure.
The maximum deection and strains at the ultimate load
are reported in Fig. 15c and d. The strains on the main
tubular spar computed by FEA and the deection, are
also plotted in Fig. 16. A torsional test was performed
in order to test the wingboom joint. The fuselage was
clamped to the load structure and a load was applied,
step-by-step, using several metal bricks in the boom-verti-
cal junction zone (Fig. 17). The maximum applied tor-
sional moment was 650 kg m. The torsion angle and a
Fig. 14. HT displacements and strains comparison.
Fig. 15. 2004 results.
G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153 151
comparison with the FEM analysis and test are reported
in Fig. 17. The junction showed good behaviour, but
there was a certain dierence between the FEM and the
experimental results at a high torsion angle due to the
constraint. The last test was carried out to test the proto-
type up to failure. The test was performed without apply-
ing boom weights, starting from the D-D1 condition and
increasing loads in two phases: a rst phase up to a load
of about 630 kg, where the rst signals of failure had been
detected, and then in a second phase, the load was
reduced to 500 kg and the nal increase was up to
850 kg where an explosive failure occurred in the centre/
inner-wing-box connection zone. The model at its maxi-
mum experimental wing deection and details of the fail-
ure zone are shown in Fig. 18.
6. Conclusions
The structural design and assembling of the scaled-pro-
totype of the HELIPLAT UAV is presented. The manufac-
turing of the main tubular spars and metal tting was
performed by CASA while the advanced spar joints, specif-
ically designed for the project, were developed and manu-
factured by POLITO. Another important contribution
was made by the Politecnico di Torino (DIASP) and its
subcontractor with the assembling of several parts of the
prototype and the manufacturing of all the dierent parts
that complete the aircraft, as shown in the gures. The
manufacturing of the testing facility and the execution of
test activities were also made by the authors, including
the positioning of the prototype and all the sensors and
equipment necessary for the test. The static tests performed
at points A and D of the ight envelope showed a fair cor-
respondence with the numerical and preliminary analysis
conrming the good evaluation of the structural behaviour
of the system. Some dierences that were encountered
Fig. 16. Main spar strain and deection (D point limit load) (FEA).
Fig. 17. 2004 torsion test.
Fig. 18. 2004 failure test.
152 G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153
could be due to some defects and imprecision in the man-
ufacturing of the main tubular spars. A subsequent torsion
test on the main wing spar was also performed in order to
completely validate the spar itself and the special advanced
joint conguration. The nal failure test was carried out to
evaluate the margin from the ultimate design load condi-
tion, and satisfactory behaviour was obtained.
Acknowledgements
The authors would rstly like to thank Prof. Giulio Ro-
meo for his essential contribution during all the project
phases. Special thanks also due to Eng. Guido Corsino
and Eng. Fabio Borello for their important contribution
during the assembling and test activity.
References
[1] Romeo G. High altitude long endurance solar powered platform for
telecommunication and earth observation applications. ASI (Italian
Space Agency). Research Contracts RS-95-63, ARS-96-136; 1994,
1995.
[2] Romeo G, Frulla G. Analysis of an advanced composite wing
structure for a solar powered airplane. In: XIII AIDAA congress
(Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics), Roma, vol. II;
September, 1995. p. 96576.
[3] Romeo G. Design proposal of high altitude very-long endurance solar
powered platform for earth observation and telecommunication
applications. In: 48th international astronautical congress; October,
1997. Turin. Paper no. IAF-97-M.2.05.
[4] Romeo G, Frulla G. Bearing strength of bolted joints in CFRP wing
ttings. In: 23rd congress of the international council of the
aeronautical sciences (ICAS), Toronto; 813 September, 2002. Paper
396-ICAS2002-4.10.4.
[5] Romeo G, Frulla G. HELIPLAT

: high altitude very-long endurance

solar powered UAV for telecommunication and earth observation
applications. Aeronaut J 2004;108(1084):27793.
[6] Romeo G, Frulla G, Cestino E, Corsino G. HELIPLAT: design,
aerodynamic, structural analysis of long-endurance solar-powered
stratospheric platform. J Aircraft 2004;41(6).
[7] Romeo G, Frulla G, Cestino E, Corsino G. HELIPLAT

: manufac-
turing and structural design of UAV scaled prototype. In: XVII
AIDAA (Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
National Congress, Roma, vol. I; September, 2003. p. 56978.
[8] Hall DW, Hall SA. Structural sizing of a solar powered aircraft; 1984.
NASA CR-172313.
[9] Romeo G. Manufacturing and testing of graphite-epoxy wing box
and fuselage structures for a solar powered UAV-HAVE. In: 21st
congress of the international council of the aeronautical sciences
(ICAS), Melbourne, Australia; September, 1998. Paper A98-31591.
[10] Romeo G. Design proposal and wing box manufacturing of a
selaunching solarpowered sailplane. Tech Soar 1997;21(4):10615.
[11] Romeo G. Design of high altitude very-long endurance solar powered
platform for earth observation and telecommunication applications.
Aerotec Missili Spaz 1998;77(34):8899.
[12] Romeo G. Numerical analysis, manufacturing and testing of
advanced composite structures for a solar powered airplane. In: XV
AIDAA congress, Torino, vol. II; November, 1999. p. 100112.
[13] Frulla G. HELIPLAT

structural analysis of high altitude very-long

endurance solar powered platform for telecommunication and earth
observation applications. In: 23rd congress of the international
council of the aeronautical sciences (ICAS), Toronto; 813 Septem-
ber, 2002. Paper 395-ICAS2002-1.3.3.
[14] Romeo G, Frulla G, Fattore L. Manufacturing and testing of
advanced composite structures for a solar powered airplane. Advanc-
ing with composites 2000, Milan, Italy; May, 2000. p. 38391.
[15] Ayuso Gonzalvo A. Scaled size prototype manufacturing of CFRP
structural parts and metallic Joints report. HE-D63-A1B-CAS-RP-04
Technical report; December, 2002.
G. Frulla, E. Cestino / Composite Structures 83 (2008) 143153 153