Author(s)

Rachael Amoah

School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

This paper explores the concept of project management and applies two knowledge areas of project management: project time management and project resource management to a typical Blended Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (BWB UAV) model design and development project. After several literature studies on this concept, it was observed to the best of research knowledge that few studies exist concerning the practical application of these two techniques on an aerial vehicle. This paper therefore practically applies these two concepts to a novel designed BWB UAV project to investigate how project time and resource management can be applied to any UAV project step by step and its usefulness to the aviation project management world. Three tools (Critical Path Method, Gantt Chart, and Resource Leveling and Smoothing) are introduced and applied to the design project of the BWB UAV. After the application of these two techniques, it was observed that the techniques and result pattern agree well with the available literature. The project time and quality factors in the “iron triangle” were also examined however, the cost was not analyzed due to its broad scope of application. Design analysis steps are outlined, and the results are displayed with regards to the pressure distribution on the wing. It was observed that, the pressure is estimated to range between 900.0 - 110.0 kPa. A pressure difference is created at the bottom and top surface of the wing, and this will help produce lift agreeing with existing literature. For future applications, other techniques in the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) like cost analysis, scope, risk, and quality among others could be studied.

Aviation Project Management, Project Time Management, Project Resource Management, Blended Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (BWB UAV)

Amoah, R. (2022) Application of Project Time Management and Resource Management to a Novel Blended Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (BWB UAV) Design. Open Access Library Journal, 9, 1-23. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1109163.