Modeling and Simulation of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaeem A. Khan ◽  
Sunil K. Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Modeling And Simulation ◽  
Micro Air Vehicles ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Preliminary Design ◽  
Unsteady Aerodynamic ◽  
Aerodynamic Model ◽  
Air Vehicle ◽  
Simulation Results

This paper presents modeling and simulation of a flapping wing micro air vehicle. The overall geometry of this vehicle is based on hummingbirds and large insects. The purpose of this study is to understand the mechanics of flight and to achieve a preliminary design based on simulation results. A quasi-unsteady aerodynamic model is used based on in-house experimental investigation of flapping wing aerodynamics. The simulation results reveal important information regarding the behaviour of the system, that could be used in future designs.

scholarly journals Experimental Investigation on the Aerodynamics of a Bio-Inspired Flexible Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuanghou Deng ◽  
Mustafa Percin ◽  
Bas van Oudheusden ◽  
Bart Remes ◽  
Hester Bijl
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Air Vehicle

scholarly journals Experimental investigation of wing flexibility on force generation of a hovering flapping wing micro air vehicle with double wing clap-and-fling effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quoc V Nguyen ◽  
Woei L Chan ◽  
Marco Debiasi
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Power Consumption ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
Air Vehicle ◽  
Set Up

Experimental investigation of wing flexibility on vertical thrust generation and power consumption in hovering condition for a hovering Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle, namely FlowerFly, weighing 14.5 g with a 3 g onboard battery and having four wings with double wing clap-and-fling effects, was conducted for several wing configurations with the same shape, area, and weight. A data acquisition system was set up to simultaneously record aerodynamic forces, electrical power consumption, and wing motions at various flapping frequencies. The forces and power consumption were measured with a loadcell and a custom-made shunt circuit, respectively, and the wing motion was captured by high-speed cameras. The results show a phase delay of the wing tip displacement observed for wings with high flexible leading edge at high frequency, resulting in less vertical thrust produced when compared with the wings with less leading edge flexibility at the same flapping frequency. Positive wing camber was observed during wing flapping motion by arranging the wing supporting ribs. Comparison of thrust-to-power ratios between the wing configurations was undertaken to figure out a wing configuration for high vertical thrust production but less power consumption.

Design of a Bio-Inspired Spherical Four-Bar Mechanism for Flapping-Wing Micro Air-Vehicle Applications

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt McDonald ◽  
Sunil K. Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Micro Air Vehicles ◽  
Aerodynamic Performance ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Aerodynamic Forces ◽  
Flapping Motion ◽  
Wing Motion ◽  
Air Vehicle ◽  
Flapping Mechanism

Design of flapping-wing micro air-vehicles presents many engineering challenges. As observed by biologists, insects and birds exhibit complex three-dimensional wing motions. It is believed that these unique patterns of wing motion create favorable aerodynamic forces that enable these species to fly forward, hover, and execute complex motions. From the perspective of micro air-vehicle applications, extremely lightweight designs that accomplish these motions of the wing, using just a single, or a few actuators, are preferable. This paper presents a method to design a spherical four-bar flapping mechanism that approximates a given spatial flapping motion of a wing, considered to have favorable aerodynamics. A spherical flapping mechanism was then constructed and its aerodynamic performance was compared to the original spatially moving wing using an instrumented robotic flapper with force sensors.

scholarly journals Quad-thopter: Tailless flapping wing robot with four pairs of wings

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe De Wagter ◽  
Matěj Karásek ◽  
Guido de Croon
Keyword(s):  
Micro Air Vehicles ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Flapping Wings ◽  
Flight Tests ◽  
Wind Gusts ◽  
Air Vehicle ◽  
Differential Thrust ◽  
Yaw Moment ◽  
Novel Design

We present a novel design of a tailless flapping wing micro air vehicle, which uses four independently driven pairs of flapping wings in order to fly and perform agile maneuvers. The wing pairs are arranged such that differential thrust generates the desired roll and pitch moments, similar to a quadrotor. Moreover, two pairs of wings are tilted clockwise and two pairs of wings anti-clockwise. This allows the micro air vehicle to generate a yaw moment. We have constructed the design and performed multiple flight tests with it, both indoors and outdoors. These tests have shown the vehicle to be capable of agile maneuvers and able to cope with wind gusts. The main advantage is that the proposed design is relatively simple to produce, and yet has the capabilities expected of tailless flapping wing micro air vehicles.

Dynamic Stability of Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicles With Unsteady Aerodynamic Model

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Hung Han ◽  
Anh Tuan Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Stability ◽  
Ground Effect ◽  
Micro Air Vehicles ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Linearization Method ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
Unsteady Aerodynamic ◽  
Aerodynamic Model ◽  
Air Vehicles

In this paper, we introduce a numerical approach based on an unsteady aerodynamic model to study the dynamic stability of insect-like flapping-wing micro air vehicles (FWMAVs). Trimmed free flight of FWMAVs is simulated by a framework that couples the unsteady potential-based aerodynamic model and a multibody dynamics code. Flight dynamic modal structures are obtained by a linearization method. This paper also briefly presents the applications of the abovementioned approach to study several problems associated with the flight dynamic stability of FWMAVs, such as the effects of body aerodynamics and wing flexibility, as well as the ground effect.

Computational and Experimental Investigation of a Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle in Hover

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1610-1625
Author(s):  
Camli Badrya ◽  
Bharath Govindarajan ◽  
James D. Baeder ◽  
Aaron Harrington ◽  
Christopher M. Kroninger
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Air Vehicle

Aerodynamic Simulation and Analysis for Biomimetic Flapping-Wing Robot

2010 ◽  
Vol 29-32 ◽  
pp. 1301-1306
Author(s):  
Jin Xu ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Wei Sun
Keyword(s):  
Aerodynamic Force ◽  
Unsteady Aerodynamics ◽  
Flapping Wing ◽  
Micro Air Vehicle ◽  
Geometric Similarity ◽  
Aerodynamic Model ◽  
Air Vehicle ◽  
Flight Parameters ◽  
Rotary Wing ◽  
Aerodynamic Simulation

As a new conceptual micro air vehicle, biomimetic flapping-wing robots have the advantages of small sizes, light weights, high maneuverability, and perfect aerodynamic performance. Flapping-wing robot can produce more effective aerodynamic force than traditional fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircrafts. Unsteady aerodynamics at low Reynolds number is the main theory applied to micro air vehicle analysis. In this paper, the flight parameters for a flapping-wing robot are designed with geometric similarity firstly. Then an improved aerodynamic model with optimized parameters is established. Lastly, some simulation and analysis are presented to illustrate and verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the models.

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