1 Design of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Ecological Conservation

The exploitation of petroleum can cause serious environment problems when oil leakages occur on the marine or lake surfaces. The constant vigilance over exploitation areas helps to minimize the adverse impact of such accidents by means of early detection. This article deals with the activities carried out at present in order to create an unmanned aerial vehicle designed to patrol the petroleum exploitation zones. Among these activities the preliminary design of the aircraft, the structural design of a prototype capable of accomplishing the assigned mission, and the aerodynamic optimization of such a design, are worth mentioning. A monoplane airplane, twin-boom configuration airplane, with a partially metallic structure was designed. The aerodynamic optimization process was realized applying theoretical and experimental methods. In conclusion, the designed vehicle will prove to be satisfactory for the mission for which it was created, and to be used as a tool for future research