Aerodynamic Model Updating Using Wind-Tunnel Setup for Hummingbirdlike Flapping Wing Nanorobot

Flight Characteristics of Flapping Wing Miniature Air Vehicles With “Figure-8” Spherical Motion

Volume 10: Mechanical Systems and Control, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/imece2009-12427 ◽

2009 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mohamed B. Trabia ◽

Woosoon Yim ◽

Zohaib Rehmat ◽

Jesse Roll

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Model ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Dynamic Stall ◽

Wind Tunnel Testing ◽

Servo Motor ◽

Aerodynamic Forces ◽

Flapping Motion ◽

Spherical Motion

Hummingbirds and some insects exhibit “Figure-8” flapping motion that allows them to go through a variety of maneuvers including hovering. Understanding the flight characteristics of Figure-8 flapping motion can potentially yield the foundation of flapping wing UAVs that can experience similar maneuverability. In this paper, a mathematical model of the dynamic and aerodynamic forces associated with Figure-8 motion generated by a spherical four bar mechanism is developed. For validation, a FWMAV prototype with the wing attached to a coupler point and driven by a DC servo motor is created for experimental testing. Wind tunnel testing is conducted to determine the coefficients of flight and the effects of dynamic stall. The wing is driven at speeds up to 12.25 Hz with results compared to that of the model. The results indicate good correlation between mathematical model and experimental prototype.

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A Sub-100 mg Electromagnetically Driven Insect-inspired Flapping-wing Micro Robot Capable of Liftoff and Control Torques Modulation

Journal of Bionic Engineering ◽

10.1007/s42235-020-0103-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 1085-1095

Author(s):

Chenyang Wang ◽

Weiping Zhang ◽

Yang Zou ◽

Ran Meng ◽

Jiaxin Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Input Voltage ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Total Weight ◽

Voltage Amplitude ◽

Torque Measurement ◽

Electromagnetic Actuators ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Micro Robot ◽

The Mean ◽

And Control

AbstractInspired by the unique, agile and efficient flapping flight of insects, we present a novel sub-100 mg, electromagnetically driven, tailless, flapping-wing micro robot. This robot utilizes two optimized electromagnetic actuators placed back to back to drive two wings separately, then kinematics of each wing can be independently controlled, which gives the robot the ability to generate all three control torques of pitch, roll and yaw for steering. To quantify the performance of the robot, a simplified aerodynamic model is used to estimate the generated lift and torques, and two customized test platforms for lift and torque measurement are built for this robot. The mean lift generated by the robot is measured to be proportional to the square of the input voltage amplitude. The three control torques are measured to be respectively proportional to three decoupled parameters of the control voltages, therefore the modulation of three control torques for the robot is independent, which is helpful for the further controlled flight. All these measured results fit well with the calculated results of the aerodynamic model. Furthermore, with a total weight of 96 mg and a wingspan of 3.5 cm, this robot can generate sufficient lift to take off.

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Unsteady aerodynamic model of flexible flapping wing

Aerospace Science and Technology ◽

10.1016/j.ast.2018.07.017 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 80 ◽

pp. 354-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Si Chen ◽

Hao Li ◽

Shijun Guo ◽

Mingbo Tong ◽

Bing Ji

Keyword(s):

Flapping Wing ◽

Unsteady Aerodynamic ◽

Aerodynamic Model

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Aerodynamic Analysis of a Flapping Wing Aircraft for Short Landing

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10103404 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 3404

Author(s):

Bing Ji ◽

Zenggang Zhu ◽

Shijun Guo ◽

Si Chen ◽

Qiaolin Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aerodynamic Characteristics ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Aerodynamic Analysis ◽

Drag Forces ◽

Wing Model ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd ◽

The Difference ◽

Cfd Method ◽

Lift And Drag

An investigation into the aerodynamic characteristics has been presented for a bio-inspired flapping wing aircraft. Firstly, a mechanism has been developed to transform the usual rotation powered by a motor to a combined flapping and pitching motion of the flapping wing. Secondly, an experimental model of the flapping wing aircraft has been built and tested to measure the motion and aerodynamic forces produced by the flapping wing. Thirdly, aerodynamic analysis is carried out based on the measured motion of the flapping wing model using an unsteady aerodynamic model (UAM) and validated by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The difference of the average lift force between the UAM and CFD method is 1.3%, and the difference between the UAM and experimental results is 18%. In addition, a parametric study is carried out by employing the UAM method to analyze the effect of variations of the pitching angle on the aerodynamic lift and drag forces. According to the study, the pitching amplitude for maximum lift is in the range of 60°~70° as the flight velocity decreases from 5 m/s to 1 m/s during landing.

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Improving Prediction of Flapping-Wing Motion By Incorporating Actuator Constraints With Models of Aerodynamic Loads Using In-Flight Data

Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics ◽

10.1115/1.4035994 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John W. Gerdes ◽

Hugh A. Bruck ◽

Satyandra K. Gupta

Keyword(s):

Experimental Data ◽

Design Space Exploration ◽

Experimental Testing ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Modeling Framework ◽

Flight Data ◽

Flexible Wing ◽

Wing Motion ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Strip Theory

Flapping-wing flight is a challenging system integration problem for designers due to tight coupling between propulsion and flexible wing subsystems with variable kinematics. High fidelity models that capture all the subsystem interactions are computationally expensive and too complex for design space exploration and optimization studies. A combination of simplified modeling and validation with experimental data offers a more tractable approach to system design and integration, which maintains acceptable accuracy. However, experimental data on flapping-wing aerial vehicles which are collected in a static laboratory test or a wind tunnel test are limited because of the rigid mounting of the vehicle, which alters the natural body response to flapping forces generated. In this study, a flapping-wing aerial vehicle is instrumented to provide in-flight data collection that is unhindered by rigid mounting strategies. The sensor suite includes measurements of attitude, heading, altitude, airspeed, position, wing angle, and voltage and current supplied to the drive motors. This in-flight data are used to setup a modified strip theory aerodynamic model with physically realistic flight conditions. A coupled model that predicts wing motions is then constructed by combining the aerodynamic model with a model of flexible wing twist dynamics and enforcing motor torque and speed bandwidth constraints. Finally, the results of experimental testing are compared to the coupled modeling framework to establish the effectiveness of the proposed approach for improving predictive accuracy by reducing errors in wing motion specification.

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Generic Modeling and Parametric Study of Flapping Wing Micro-Air-Vehicle

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.225.18 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 225 ◽

pp. 18-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Harijono Djojodihardjo ◽

Alif Syamim Syazwan Ramli ◽

Surjatin Wiriadidjaja

Keyword(s):

Parametric Study ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Unsteady Aerodynamics ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Phase Lag ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Strip Theory ◽

Thrust Characteristics ◽

Generic Modeling ◽

Wing Geometry

The present work is focused on the unsteady aerodynamics of bio-inspired flapping wing to produce lift and thrust for hovering and forward flight. A generic approach is followed to understand and mimic the mechanism and kinematics of ornithopter by considering the motion of a three-dimensional rigid thin wing in flapping and pitching motion, using strip theory and two-dimensional unsteady aerodynamics for idealized wing in pitching and flapping oscillations with phase lag. Parametric study is carried out to obtain the lift, drag, and thrust characteristics within a cycle for assessing the plausibility of the aerodynamic model, and for the synthesis of a Flapping Wing MAV model with simplified mechanism. Other important parameters such as flapping frequency and wing geometry are considered. Results are assessed in comparison with the existing theoretical results.

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Metabolic power, mechanical power and efficiency during wind tunnel flight by the European starlingSturnus vulgaris

Journal of Experimental Biology ◽

10.1242/jeb.204.19.3311 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 204 (19) ◽

pp. 3311-3322 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

S. Ward ◽

U. Möller ◽

J. M. V. Rayner ◽

D. M. Jackson ◽

D. Bilo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Tunnel ◽

High Speed ◽

Flight Muscle ◽

Carbon Dioxide Production ◽

Flight Speed ◽

Mechanical Power ◽

Metabolic Power ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Flight Costs ◽

High Speed Cinematography

SUMMARYWe trained two starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to fly in a wind tunnel whilst wearing respirometry masks. We measured the metabolic power (Pmet) from the rates of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production and calculated the mechanical power (Pmech) from two aerodynamic models using wingbeat kinematics measured by high-speed cinematography. Pmet increased from 10.4 to 14.9 W as flight speed was increased from 6.3 to 14.4 m s–1 and was compatible with the U-shaped power/speed curve predicted by the aerodynamic models. Flight muscle efficiency varied between 0.13 and 0.23 depending upon the bird, the flight speed and the aerodynamic model used to calculate Pmech. Pmet during flight is often estimated by extrapolation from the mechanical power predicted by aerodynamic models by dividing Pmech by a flight muscle efficiency of 0.23 and adding the costs of basal metabolism, circulation and respiration. This method would underestimate measured Pmet by 15–25 % in our birds. The mean discrepancy between measured and predicted Pmet could be reduced to 0.1±1.5 % if flight muscle efficiency was altered to a value of 0.18. A flight muscle efficiency of 0.18 rather than 0.23 should be used to calculate the flight costs of birds in the size range of starlings (approximately 0.1 kg) if Pmet is calculated from Pmech derived from aerodynamic models.

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Optimisation of a Sailing Rig using Wind Tunnel Data

10.5957/csys-1997-004 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

IMC Campbell

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Research Programme ◽

The United States ◽

Wind Tunnel Tests ◽

Aerodynamic Model ◽

Analysis Methods ◽

Wind Tunnel Data ◽

Made In

A number of wind tunnel tests have been conducted by the Wolfson Unit in aid of the development of sailing rigs for both cruising and racing boats, including recent tests for the United States Sailing Association as part of the joint IMS/PHRF research programme. In the process of these tests developments have been made in both the test techniques and the analysis methods, which have enabled the components of drag to be identified for different sail settings. This paper describes the tests for evaluating the upwind rig performance of a sloop and compares the components of drag with those in the aerodynamic model used in the IMS VPP. The aerodynamic behaviour of the rig is described using plots of the variation of sail forces and moments with sail settings with the aim of helping sailors understand the effects of changing sail settings. It is shown that the wind tunnel data match closely the IMS aerodynamic model and that this model can be simply programmed by sailors and designers into a spreadsheet to enable the rig planform to be optimised for particular conditions. The results are compared with those obtained using a full VPP calculation.

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