The Peregrine is a final year capstone project aiming to design, optimize, build, test and fly an Additively Manufactured Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with a Blended Wing Body (BWB) configuration. Aircraft with a BWB configuration are proposed for the next generation of airliners, primarily due to their increased fuel efficiency and reduced acoustic footprint, they will greatly reduce operational cost. Additive manufacturing is being sought in this project as the manufacturing method due to its sustainability and relaxation of manufacturing constraints allowing the manufacturing of very complicated geometries. The Peregrine will be initially developed as a baseline aerial system with the aim to serve as a platform for advanced research at Carleton University in areas of aircraft new configuration design, aerospace materials and structural design optimization, stability and control, avionics, aerodynamics, among others. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are complex machines requiring interdisciplinary skills in the areas ofaerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics and control systems and this project will provide opportunities for the students to develop interdisciplinary skills in these areas. The project emphasizes 3 key areas to help develop the skills of Carleton engineering students:
- an opportunity for advancement of engineering research, analysis and design
- simulating “real world” industrial setting, focussing on teamwork
- exercising the “design – prototyping – ground testing – flight testing” – product development cycle, which is characteristic of the aerospace sector.
The project has been structured to simulate a real-life development team in industrial projects that graduate engineers will encounter during their careers. Students begin with the Design Requirements, which outlines specific technical and financial needs, which the students must meet through the engineering process. Designs are created and reviewed, key elements are manufactured and results are verified via ground testing and flight testing at the end of the course. This realistic project approach helps prepare students to quickly become contributing members of a project team upon their graduation. As with well-structured industrial projects, the Peregrine project also has a formal project team structure and a formal documentation process to guide the design and construction elements of the project. The project team is structured to include all of the key elements of a successful project team, including project management; project, design, and manufacturing engineering; testing; and R&D. Students enrolled in the project will form a team within key elements of the development loop.