Numerical analysis of active chordwise flexibility on the performance of non-symmetrical flapping airfoils

This paper investigates the effect of active chordwise flexing on the lift, thrust and propulsive efficiency of three types of airfoils. The factors studied are the flexing center location, standard two-sided flexing as well as a type of single-sided flexing. The airfoils are simulated to flap with four configurations, and the effects of flexing under these configurations are investigated. Results show that flexing is not necessarily beneficial for the performance of the airfoils. However, with the correct parameters, efficiency is as high as 0.76 by placing the flexing centre at the trailing edge. The average thrust coefficient is more than twice as high, from 1.63 to 3.57 with flapping and flexing under the right conditions. Moreover, the single-sided flexing also gives an average lift coefficient as high as 4.61 for the S1020 airfoil. The shape of the airfoil does alter the effect of flexing too. Deviating the flexing phase angle away from 90° does not give a significant improvement to the airfoil’s performance. These results greatly enhance the design of a better performing ornithopter wing.     

Analysis of non-symmetrical flapping airfoils

Simulations have been done to assess the lift, thrust and propulsive efficiency of different types of non-symmetrical airfoils under different flapping configurations. The variables involved are reduced frequency, Strouhal number, pitch amplitude and phase angle. In order to analyze the variables more efficiently, the design of experiments using the response surface methodology is applied. Results show that both the variables and shape of the airfoil have a profound effect on the lift, thrust, and efficiency. By using non- symmetrical airfoils, average lift coefficient as high as 2.23 can be obtained. The average thrust coefficient and efficiency also reach high values of 2.53 and 0.61, respectively. The lift production is highly dependent on the airfoil＇s shape while thrust production is influenced more heavily by the variables. Efficiency falls somewhere in between. Two-factor interac- tions are found to exist among the variables. This shows that it is not sufficient to analyze each variable individually. Vorticity diagrams are analyzed to explain the results obtained. Overall, the S1020 airfoil is able to provide relatively good efficiency and at the same time generate high thrust and lift force. These results aid in the design of a better ornithopter＇s wing.     

Design and development considerations for biologically inspired flapping-wing micro air vehicles

In this paper, the decade of numerical and experimental investigations leading to the development of the authors’ unique flapping-wing micro air vehicle is summarized. Early investigations included the study of boundary layer energization by means of a small flapping foil embedded in a flat-plate boundary layer, the reduction of the recirculatory flow region behind a backward-facing step by means of a small flapping foil, and the reduction or suppression of flow separation behind blunt or cusped airfoil trailing edges by flapping a small foil located in the wake flow region. These studies were followed by systematic investigations of the aerodynamic characteristics of single flapping airfoils and airfoil combinations. These unsteady flows were described using flow visualization, laser-Doppler velocimetry in addition to panel and Navier–Stokes computations. It is then shown how this flapping-wing database was used to conceive, design and develop a micro air vehicle which has a fixed wing for lift and two flapping wings for thrust generation. While animal flight is characterized by a coupled force generation, the present design appears to separate lift and thrust. However, in fact, the performance of one surface is closely coupled to the other surfaces.     

前后双扑翼水平距离及相位差对其气动性能的影响

通过在动态网格上求解Navier-Stokes方程,对前后双扑翼的非定常粘性流场进行了数值模拟和气动干扰分析,考察了前后翼不同水平距离和不同相位差对其气动力和气动效率的影响。结果表明,扑动前翼和静止后翼间的气动干扰在各种不同水平距离下都有利于气动特性的改善,但气动干扰的作用随着前后翼水平距离的增大而减弱;前后双翼扑动的相位差是影响气动性能的重要参数,两翼间的气动干扰是否有利则与相位差和水平距离有直接联系。     

High fidelity numerical simulation of airfoil thickness and kinematics effects on flapping airfoil propulsion

High-fidelity numerical simulations with the spectral difference (SD) method are carried out to investigate the unsteady flow over a series of oscillating NACA 4-digit airfoils. Airfoil thickness and kinematics effects on the flapping airfoil propulsion are highlighted. It is confirmed that the aerodynamic performance of airfoils with different thickness can be very different under the same kinematics. Distinct evolutionary patterns of vortical structures are analyzed to unveil the underlying flow physics behind the diverse flow phenomena associated with different airfoil thickness and kinematics and reveal the synthetic effects of airfoil thickness and kinematics on the propulsive performance. Thickness effects at various reduced frequencies and Strouhal numbers for the same chord length based Reynolds number (=1200) are then discussed in detail. It is found that at relatively small Strouhal number (=0.3), for all types of airfoils with the combined pitching and plunging motion (pitch angle 20°, the pitch axis located at one third of chord length from the leading edge, pitch leading plunge by 75°), low reduced frequency (=1) is conducive for both the thrust production and propulsive efficiency. Moreover, relatively thin airfoils (e.g. NACA0006) can generate larger thrust and maintain higher propulsive efficiency than thick airfoils (e.g. NACA0030). However, with the same kinematics but at relatively large Strouhal number (=0.45), it is found that airfoils with different thickness exhibit diverse trend on thrust production and propulsive efficiency, especially at large reduced frequency (=3.5). Results on effects of airfoil thickness based Reynolds numbers indicate that relative thin airfoils show superior propulsion performance in the tested Reynolds number range. The evolution of leading edge vortices and the interaction between the leading and trailing edge vortices play key roles in flapping airfoil propulsive performance.     

Enclosure enhancement of flight performance

We use a potential flow solver to investigate the aerodynamic aspects of flapping flights in enclosed spaces. The enclosure effects are simulated by the method of images. Our study complements previous aerodynamic analyses which considered only the near-ground flight. The present results show that flying in the proximity of an enclosure affects the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings in terms of lift and thrust generation and power consumption. It leads to higher flight efficiency and more than 5% increase of the generation of lift and thrust.     

Experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing vehicle in forward flight

The aerodynamic performance of a flexible membrane flapping wing has been investigated here. For this purpose, a flapping-wing system and an experimental set-up were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces of the flapping wing motion. A one-component force balance was set up to record the temporal variations of aerodynamic forces. The flapping wing was studied in a large low-speed wind tunnel. The lift and thrust of this mechanism were measured for different flapping frequencies, angles of attack and for various wind tunnel velocities. Results indicate that the thrust increases with the flapping frequency. An increase in the wind tunnel speed and flow angle of attack leads to reduction in the thrust value and increases the lift component. The aerodynamic and performance parameters were nondimensionalized. Appropriate models were introduced which show its aerodynamic performance and may be used in the design process and also optimization of the flapping wing.     

Bond graph modeling of a typical flapping wing micro-air-vehicle with the elastic articulated wings

In the present research, a new comprehensive model of a flexible articulated flapping wing robot using the bond graph approach is presented. The flapping kinematics of a two-section wing is introduced via the bond graph based approach on a hybrid mechanism providing amplitude and phase characteristics. The aerodynamic quasi-steady approach equipped with stall correlation is utilized according to the reduced flapping frequency and the angle of attack ranges. The local flow velocity and the wing position are calculated in both wing and body coordinates taking into account rotation and translation of the wing different parts. Estimation of the effective angle of attack is performed by calculating the instantaneous torque distribution on both wing sections. Aeroelastic modeling is employed in which the wing structure is assumed as an elastic Euler–Bernoulli beam at the leading edge with three linear torsional modes. In this novel integrated bond graph model, computation of the performance indices including the average lift and thrust, consumed and produced powers by flapping and mechanical efficiency are presented. Due to existence of the numerous geometric and kinematic parameters in articulated flexible flapping wing, such a model is essential for design and optimization. Consequently, an example of a typical parametric study and the results validation are carried out. It is indicated that the sensitivity of the bird performance to relative change in design variables would increase for out of phase flapping, second part stiffness, flapping amplitude, frequency and velocity respectively. It is interesting that by employing the reverse-phase flapping which is possible only via articulated wings, the maximum efficiency could be achieved. In addition, it is shown that adjusting the wing torsional stiffness is a crucial item in design of passive flapping robots. The key advantage of the two-section flapping wing is depicted as the controlling capability of the angle of attack in the outer part of the wing. Finally, the improved version of the bird is being addressed by approximately 15% progress in propulsive efficiency.

     

Numerical simulation of a flapping four-wing micro-aerial vehicle

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of a four-wing (two wings on each side, one on top of another) flapping micro-aerial vehicle (FMAV), known as the Delfly micro, is performed using an immersed boundary method Navier–Stokes finite volume solver at Reynolds numbers of 5500 (forward flight condition). The objective of the present investigation is to gain an insight to the aerodynamics of flapping wing biplane configuration, by making an analysis on a geometry that is simplified, yet captures the major aspects of the wing behavior. The fractional step method is used to solve the Navier–Stokes equations. Results show that in comparison to the Delfly II flapping kinematics (a similar FMAV configuration but smaller flapping stroke angles), the Delfly-Micro flapping kinematics provides more thrust while maintaining the same efficiency. The Delfly-Micro biplane configuration generates more lift than expected when the inclination angle increases, due to the formation of a uniform leading edge vortex. Estimates of the lift produced in the forward flight conditions confirm that in the current design, the MAV is able to sustain forward flight. The potential effect of wing flexibility on the aerodynamic performance in the biplane configuration context is investigated through prescribed flexibility in the simulations. Increasing the wing׳ spanwise flexibility increases thrust but increasing chordwise flexibility causes thrust to first increase and then decrease. Moreover, combining both spanwise and chordwise flexibility outperforms cases with only either spanwise or chordwise flexibility.     

Characterization of the Mechanics of Compliant Wing Designs for Flapping-Wing Miniature Air Vehicles

Flapping-wing miniature air vehicles (MAVs) offer multiple performance benefits relative to fixed-wing and rotary-wing MAVs. This investigation focused on the problem of designing compliant wings for a flapping-wing MAV where only the spar configuration was varied to achieve improved performance. Because the computational tools needed for identifying the optimal spar configuration for highly compliant wing designs have yet to be developed, a new experimental methodology was developed to explore the effects of spar configuration on the wing performance. This technique optically characterized the wing deformations associated with a given spar configuration and used a customized test stand for measuring lift and thrust loads on the wings during flapping. This revealed that spar configurations achieving large and stable deformed volume during the flapping cycle provided the best combination of lift and thrust. The approach also included a sensitivity and reproducibility analysis on potential spar configurations. Results indicated that the wing shape and corresponding lift and thrust performance were very sensitive to slight changes in volume and 3-D shape associated with slight variations in the spar locations.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of chordwise flexibility on the aerodynamics of flapping wings in hovering flight

Ornithopters or mechanical birds produce aerodynamic lift and thrust through the flapping motion of their wings. Here, we use an experimental apparatus to investigate the effects of a wing's twisting stiffness on the generated thrust force and the power required at different flapping frequencies. A flapping wing system and an experimental set-up were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic and inertial forces, power usage and angular speed of the flapping wing motion. A data acquisition system was set-up to record important data with the appropriate sampling frequency. The aerodynamic performance of the vehicle under hovering (i.e., no wind) conditions was investigated. The lift and thrust that were produced were measured for different flapping frequencies and for various wings with different chordwise flexibilities. The results show the manner in which the elastic deformation and inertial flapping forces affect the dynamical behavior of the wing. It is shown that the generalization of the actuator disk theory is, at most, only valid for rigid wings, and for flexible wings, the power P varies by a power of about 1.0  of the thrust T. This aerodynamic information can also be used as benchmark data for unsteady flow solvers.     

Measurement of Thrust and Lift Forces Associated With Drag of Compliant Flapping Wing for Micro Air Vehicles Using a New Test Stand Design

Compliant wing designs have the potential of improving flapping wing Micro-Air Vehicles (MAVs). Designing compliant wings requires a detailed understanding of the effect of compliance on the generation of thrust and lift forces. The low force and high-frequency measurements associated with these forces necessitated a new versatile test stand design that uses a 250 g load cell along with a rigid linear air bearing to minimize friction and the dynamic behavior of the test stand while isolating only the stationary thrust or lift force associated with drag generated by the wing. Moreover, this stand is relatively inexpensive and hence can be easily utilized by wing designers to optimize the wing compliance and shape. The frequency response of the wing is accurately resolved, along with wing compliance on the thrust and lift profiles. The effects of the thrust and lift force generated as a function of flapping frequency were also determined. A semi-empirical aerodynamic model of the thrust and lift generated by the flapping wing MAV on the new test stand was developed and used to evaluate the measurements. This model accounted for the drag force and the effects of the wing compliance. There was good correlation between the model predictions and experimental measurements. Also, the increase in average thrust due to increased wing compliance was experimentally quantified for the first time using the new test stand. Thus, our measurements for the first time reveal the detrimental influence of excessive compliance on drag forces during high frequency operation. In addition, we were also able to observe the useful effect of compliance on the generation of extra thrust at the beginning and end of upstrokes and downstrokes of the flapping motion.     

The effect of phase angle and wing spacing on tandem flapping wings

In a tandem wing configuration, the hindwing often operates in the wake of the forewing and, hence, its performance is affected by the vortices shed by the forewing. Changes in the phase angle between the flapping motions of the fore and the hind wings, as well as the spacing between them, can affect the resulting vortex/wing and vortex/vortex interactions. This study uses 2D numerical simulations to investigate how these changes affect the leading dege vortexes (LEV) generated by the hindwing and the resulting effect on the lift and thrust coefficients as well as the efficiencies. The tandem wing configuration was simulated using an incompressible Navier-Stokes solver at a chord-based Reynolds number of 5 000. A harmonic single frequency sinusoidal oscillation consisting of a combined pitch and plunge motion was used for the flapping wing kinematics at a Strouhal number of 0.3. Four different spacings ranging from 0.1 chords to 1 chord were tested at three different phase angles, 0°, 90° and 180°. It was found that changes in the spacing and phase angle affected the timing of the interaction between the vortex shed from the forewing and the hindwing. Such an interaction affects the LEV formation on the hindwing and results in changes in aerodynamic force production and efficiencies of the hindwing. It is also observed that changing the phase angle has a similar effect as changing the spacing. The results further show that at different spacings the peak force generation occurs at different phase angles, as do the peak efficiencies.     

A flow control mechanism in wing flapping with stroke asymmetry during insect forward flight

A theoretical modeling approach as well as an unsteady analytical method is used to study aerodynamic characteristics of wing flapping with asymmetric stroke-cycles in connection with an oblique stroke plane during insect forward flight. It is revealed that the aerodynamic asymmetry between the downstroke and the upstroke due to stroke-asymmetrical flapping is a key to understand the flow physics of generation and modulation of the lift and the thrust. Predicted results for examples of given kinematics validate more specifically some viewpoints that the wing lift is more easily produced when the forward speed is higher and the thrust is harder, and the lift and the thrust are generated mainly during downstroke and upstroke, respectively. The effects of three controlling parameters, i.e. the angles of tilted stroke plane, the different downstroke duration ratios, and the different angles of attack in both down- and up-stroke, are further discussed. It is found that larger oblique angles of stroke planes generate larger thrust but smaller lift; larger downstroke duration ratios lead to larger thrust, while making little change in lift and input aerodynamic power; and again, a small increase of the angle of attack in downstroke or upstroke may cause remarkable changes in aerodynamic performance in the relevant stroke.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10072066, 90305009) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX-SW-L04, KJCX2-SW-L2)The English text was polished by Ron Marshall.     

柔性双尾鳍效率的测量和优化

建立了仿生拍动推进推力和效率的测量平台,通过电机的转动扭矩、转动角速度及推进力计算得到仿生推进系统的推进效率.对本课题组研制的组合仿生无人水下航行器中柔性双尾鳍模型进行了测量与分析,结果表明柔性尾鳍推进时小摆幅摆动运动效率要高于大摆幅运动;双尾鳍推进方式在小摆幅模式下无论在推进力还是在效率方面都要优于单尾鳍.最后根据模型实验数据,优化了双尾鳍推进的运动参数,并用于优化UUV性能.     

N-S方程数值研究翼型对微型扑翼气动特性的影响

首先基于嵌套网格发展了一套适用于三维扑翼研究的非定常雷诺平均Navier-Stokes(RANS)方程数值模拟方法.为了解决微型扑翼在低马赫数下的收敛问题,使用了预处理方法,湍流模型为BL模型.在该方法的基础上,保持状态参数和扑翼表面形状一定的情况下,分别研究了一系列不同厚度、不同弯度的翼型对于微型扑翼气动特性的影响....     

Thrust augmentation of flapping airfoils in low Reynolds number flow using a flexible membrane

The unsteady aerodynamic thrust and aeroelastic response of a two-dimensional membrane airfoil under prescribed harmonic motion are investigated computationally with a high-order Navier–Stokes solver coupled to a nonlinear membrane structural model. The effects of membrane prestress and elasticity are examined parametrically for selected plunge and pitch–plunge motions at a chord-based Reynolds number of 2500. The importance of inertial membrane loads resulting from the prescribed flapping is also assessed for pure plunging motions. This study compares the period-averaged aerodynamic loads of flexible versus rigid membrane airfoils and highlights the vortex structures and salient fluid–membrane interactions that enable more efficient flapping thrust production in low Reynolds number flows.     

柔性扑翼的气动特性研究

以往扑翼的气动力计算研究都很少考虑扑翼的柔性,而在鸟的扑翼动作中,在外加气动力和鸟自身的扑动力作用下,扑翼的柔性变形相当大。本文在原有匀速刚性模型的基础上,提出考虑了扑翼扑动速率变化和形状变化的扑翼分析模型,使之更接近鸟翼柔性扑动真实情况。通过计算分析气动特性发现,控制适当的话,柔性变形能大大改善扑翼的气动性能。本文通过模拟鸟扑翼的柔性运动,计算了时柔性扑翼气动力以及平均升力系数和平均推力系数随着扑动角、倾斜角等参数变化的情况,从而从气动的角度解释了为什么鸟在不同的飞行阶段扑翼规律各不相同,并为柔性扑翼飞行器的设计提供了理论依据。