Development of a novel flapping mechanism with adjustable wing kinematics for micro air vehicles

This paper presents a novel micro air vehicle (MAV) design that seeks to reproduce the unsteady aerodynamics of insects in their natural flight. The challenge of developing an MAV capable of hovering and maneuvering through indoor environments has led to bio-inspired flapping propulsion being considered instead of conventional fixed or rotary winged flight. Insects greatly outperform these conventional flight platforms by exploiting several unsteady aerodynamic phenomena. Therefore, reproducing insect aerodynamics by mimicking their complex wing kinematics with a miniature flying robot has significant benefits in terms of flight performance. However, insect wing kinematics are extremely complex and replicating them requires optimal design of the actuation and flapping mechanism system. A novel flapping mechanism based on parallel crank-rockers has been designed that accurately reproduces the wing kinematics employed by insects and also offers control for flight maneuvers. The mechanism has been developed into an experimental prototype with MAV scale wings (75 mm long). High-speed camera footage of the non-airborne prototype showed that its wing kinematics closely matched desired values, but that the wing beat frequency of 5.6 Hz was below the predicted value of 15 Hz. Aerodynamic testing of the prototype in hovering conditions was completed using a load cell and the mean lift force at the maximum power output was measured to be 23.8 mN.

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Wing Kinematics Optimization for Hovering Micro Air Vehicles Using Calculus of Variation

Journal of Aircraft ◽

10.2514/1.c031969 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 610-614 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Haithem E. Taha ◽

Muhammad R. Hajj ◽

Ali H. Nayfeh

Keyword(s):

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Calculus Of Variation ◽

Wing Kinematics ◽

Air Vehicles

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Design of a parallel crank-rocker flapping mechanism for insect-inspired micro air vehicles

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part C Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science ◽

10.1243/09544062jmes517 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 221 (10) ◽

pp. 1211-1222 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

A T Conn ◽

S C Burgess ◽

C S Ling

Keyword(s):

High Speed ◽

Angle Of Attack ◽

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Kinematic Parameter ◽

Insect Wing ◽

Wing Kinematics ◽

Air Vehicle ◽

Predicted Values ◽

Rotary Wing ◽

Flapping Mechanism

In the current paper, a novel micro air vehicle (MAV) flapping mechanism for replicating insect wing kinematics is presented. Insects flap their wings in a complex motion that enables them to generate several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms, which are extremely beneficial for lift production. A flapping wing MAV that can reproduce these aerodynamic mechanisms in a controlled manner is likely to outperform alternative flight platforms such as rotary wing MAVs. A biomimetic design approach was undertaken to develop a novel flapping mechanism, the parallel crank-rocker (PCR). Unlike several existing flapping mechanisms (which are compared using an original classification method), the PCR mechanism has an integrated flapping and pitching output motion which is not constrained. This allows the wing angle of attack, a key kinematic parameter, to be adjusted and enables the MAV to enact manoeuvres and have flight stability. Testing of a near-MAV scale PCR prototype using a high-speed camera showed that the flapping angle and adjustable angle of attack both closely matched predicted values, proving the mechanism can replicate insect wing kinematics. A mean lift force of 3.35 g was measured with the prototype in a hovering orientation and flapping at 7.15 Hz.

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