蜻蜓非均匀柔性前翼扑动飞行的气动性能研究

为了探究柔性对于蜻蜓前翼在扑动向前飞行时的气动性能, 本文根据蜻蜓前翼的实际参数建立蜻蜓前翼模型, 提出了两种柔性分布方式即均匀柔性分布和沿蜻蜓前翼弦向的变柔性分布. 本文通过STAR-CCM+软件, 首先采用重叠网格和双向流固耦合技术, 用于实现蜻蜓前翼的扑动流固耦合, 其次通过改变蜻蜓前翼固体区域的杨氏模量函数从而实现蜻蜓前翼的两种不同柔性分布. 结果表明, 在均匀柔性分布条件下, 柔性翼在杨氏模量较小时的升力系数和阻力系数曲线的变化规律滞后于刚性翼半周期并且给飞行增加阻力, 但是随着杨氏模量的逐渐增加即柔性逐渐减小, 蜻蜓前翼受到的阻力减小, 获得的推力增加且推力给予蜻蜓前飞的动量增量、加速度以及时均推力系数先增加后减小. 在合理的非均匀柔性分布条件下, 柔性翼显著提高推力系数峰值和时均推力系数, 在扑动前飞时, 给予蜻蜓前翼较大的动量增量以及加速度. 两种柔性分布方式的蜻蜓前翼与刚性翼对比之下, 蜻蜓前翼在柔性为非均匀柔性分布时可以获得更好的气动性能.      

Aerodynamics and mechanisms of elementary morphing models for flapping wing in forward flight of bat

Large active wing deformation is a significant way to generate high aerodynamic forces required in bat's flapping flight. Besides the twisting, elementary morphing models of a bat wing are proposed, including wing-bending in the spanwise direction, wing-cambering in the chordwise direction, and wing area-changing. A plate of aspect ratio 3 is used to model a bat wing, and a three-dimensional unsteady panel method is used to predict the aerodynamic forces. It is found that the cambering model has great positive influence on the lift, followed by the area-changing model and then the bending model. Further study indicates that the vortex control is a main mechanism to produce high aerodynamic forces. The mechanisms of aerodynamic force enhancement are asymmetry of the cambered wing and amplification effects of wing area-changing and wing bending. Lift and thrust are generated mainly during downstroke, and they are almost negligible during upstroke by the integrated morphing model-wing.     

Force production and asymmetric deformation of a flexible flapping wing in forward flight

Insect wings usually are flexible and deform significantly under the combined inertial and aerodynamic load. To study the effect of wing flexibility on both lift and thrust production in forward flight, a two-dimensional numerical simulation is employed to compute the fluid–structure interaction of an elastic wing section translating in an inclined stroke plane while pitching around its leading ledge. The effects of the wing stiffness, mass ratio, stroke plane angle, and flight speed are considered. The results show that the passive pitching due to wing deformation can significantly increase thrust while either maintaining lift at the same level or increasing it simultaneously. Another important finding is that even though the wing structure and actuation kinematics are symmetric, chordwise deformation of the wing shows a larger magnitude during upstroke than during downstroke. The asymmetry is more pronounced when the wing has a low mass ratio so that the fluid-induced deformation is significant. Such an aerodynamic cause may serve as an additional mechanism for the asymmetric deformation pattern observed in real insects.     

昆虫飞行的高升力机理

对近年来关于昆虫产生非定常高升力的研究进行了综述和归纳.这方面的工作对生物学研究和微型飞行器等微型机械的仿生设计有重要意义.研究表明:果蝇等昆虫翅膀的拍动运动可产生很大的非定常升力,其平均值是定常值的2~3倍,足够平衡昆虫的重量,并有较大的富余用于机动飞行;产生高升力有三个因素:一是拍动开始阶段翅的快速加速运动,二是拍动中的不失速机制,三是拍动结束阶段翅的快速上仰运动.人们从能耗的角度考察了这些非定常高升力机制的正确性和可行性.当作悬停飞行的果蝇用以上机制产生平衡其重量的升力时,其比功率(支持单位身体质量所需的功率)约为29W/kg, 生化/机械效率约为17%. 这些值与人们基于对昆虫肌肉力学特性的研究所预估的值接近.果蝇前飞时,其比功率随速度变化的曲线是一J形曲线,而不是象飞机或鸟的那样是一U形曲线;这与人们基于昆虫新陈代谢率的测量数据所推断的结果一致.对于蜻蜒等(功能上)有前、后两对翅膀的昆虫,有以下初步结果:翅的下拍主要产生升力,上挥主要产生推力;下拍时的平均升力系数可达2~3,十分大,上挥时的平均推力系数可达1~2, 也很大,它们主要由非定常效应产生;前、后翅的相互干扰并未起增大升力和推力的作用,反而有一定的不利作用.      

Effect of spanwise flexibility on flapping wing propulsion

A water tunnel study of the effect of spanwise flexibility on the thrust, lift and propulsive efficiency of a rectangular wing oscillating in pure heave has been performed. The thrust and lift forces were measured with a force balance, and the flow field was measured with a Particle Image Velocimetry system. Introducing a degree of spanwise flexibility was found to be beneficial. For Strouhal numbers greater than 0.2, a degree of spanwise flexibility was found to yield a small increase in thrust coefficient, and a small decrease in power-input requirement, resulting in higher efficiency. In this case, a moderately stronger trailing-edge vortex system was observed. Introducing a far greater degree of spanwise flexibility, however, was found to be detrimental. A large phase delay of the wing tip displacement was observed, leading to the root and tip moving in opposite directions for a significant portion of the flapping stroke. Vorticity of opposing sign was observed to be shed from the root and tip, resulting in a weak and fragmented vorticity pattern. The thrust coefficient was observed to be significantly reduced, and the efficiency diminished. It is noted that the range of Strouhal numbers for which spanwise flexibility was found to offer benefits overlaps the range found in nature, of 0.2<Sr<0.4. From a design aspect, flexibility may benefit flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicles both aerodynamically and in the inherent lightness of flexible structures.     

Numerical simulation of flapping‐wing insect hovering flight at unsteady flow

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted to study the unsteady aerodynamics of a virtual flying bumblebee during hovering flight. The integrated geometry of bumblebee was established to define the shape of a three‐dimensional virtual bumblebee model with beating its wings, accurately mimicking the three‐dimensional movements of wings during hovering flight. The kinematics data of wings documented from the measurement to the bumblebee in normal hovering flight aided by the high‐speed video. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved numerically. The solution provides the flow and pressure fields, from which the aerodynamic forces and vorticity wake structure are obtained. Insights into the unsteady aerodynamic force generation process are gained from the force and flow‐structure information. The CFD analysis has established an overall understanding of the viscous and unsteady flow around the virtual flying bumblebee and of the time course of instantaneous force production, which reveals that hovering flight is dominated by the unsteady aerodynamics of both the instantaneous dynamics and also the past history of the wing. A coherent leading‐edge vortex with axial flow and the attached wingtip vortex and trailing edge vortex were detected. The leading edge vortex, wing tip vortex and trailing edge vortex, which caused by the pressure difference between the upper and the lower surface of wings. The axial flow, which include the spanwise flow and chordwise flow, is derived from the spanwise pressure gradient and chordwise pressure gradient, will stabilize the vortex and gives it a characteristic spiral conical shape. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A parametric investigation of the propulsion of 2D chordwise-flexible flapping wings at low Reynolds number using numerical simulations

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the effects of chordwise flexibility on flapping wings at low Reynolds number. The numerical simulations are performed with a partitioned fluid–structure interaction algorithm using artificial compressibility stabilization. The choice of the structural dimensionless parameters is based on scaling arguments and is compared against parameters used by other authors. The different regimes, namely inertia-driven and pressure-driven wing deformations, are presented along with their effects on the topology of the flow and on the performance of a heaving and pitching flapping wing in propulsion regime. It is found that pressure-driven deformations can significantly increase the thrust efficiency if a suitable amount of flexibility is used. Significant thrust increases are also observed in zero pitching amplitude cases. The effects of the second and third deformation modes on the performances of pressure-driven deformation cases are discussed. On the other hand, inertia-driven deformations generally deteriorate aerodynamic performances of flapping wings unless the behavior of the wing deformation is modified by the presence of sustainable superharmonics in a way that produces slight improvements. It is also shown that wing flexibility can act as an efficient passive pitching mechanism that allows fair thrust and better efficiency to be achieved when compared to a rigid pitching–heaving wing.     

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.     

Influence of wing flexibility on the aerodynamic performance of a tethered flapping bumblebee

The sophisticated structures of flapping insect wings make it challenging to study the role of wing flexibility in insect flight. In this study, a mass-spring system is used to model wing structural dynamics as a thin, flexible membrane supported by a network of veins. The vein mechanical properties can be estimated based on their diameters and the Young's modulus of cuticle. In order to analyze the effect of wing flexibility, the Young's modulus is varied to make a comparison between two different wing models that we refer to as flexible and highly flexible. The wing models are coupled with a pseudo-spectral code solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, allowing us to investigate the influence of wing deformation on the aerodynamic efficiency of a tethered flapping bumblebee. Compared to the bumblebee model with rigid wings, the one with flexible wings flies more efficiently, characterized by a larger lift-to-power ratio.     

Experimental study on interaction of aerodynamics with flexible wings of flapping vehicles in hovering and cruise flight

Flapping wings are promising lift and thrust generators, especially for very low Reynolds numbers. To investigate aeroelastic effects of flexible wings (specifically, wing’s twisting stiffness) on hovering and cruising aerodynamic performance, a flapping-wing system and an experimental setup were designed and built. This system measures the unsteady aerodynamic and inertial forces, power usage, and angular speed of the flapping wing motion for different flapping frequencies and for various wings with different chordwise flexibility. Aerodynamic performance of the vehicle for both no wind (hovering) and cruise condition was investigated. Results show how elastic deformations caused by interaction of inertial and aerodynamic forces with the flexible structure may affect specific power consumption. This information was used here to find a more suitable structural design. The best selected design in our tests performs up to 30% better than others (i.e., less energy consumption for the same lift or thrust generation). This measured aerodynamic information could also be used as a benchmarking data for unsteady flow solvers.     

The influence of the wake of a flapping wing on the production of aerodynamic forces

The effect of the wake of previous strokes on the aerodynamic forces of a flapping model insect wing is studied using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The wake effect is isolated by comparing the forces and flows of the starting stroke (when the wake has not developed) with those of a later stroke (when the wake has developed). The following has been shown. (1) The wake effect may increase or decrease the lift and drag at the beginning of a half-stroke (downstroke or upstroke), depending on the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. The reason for this is that at the beginning of the half-stroke, the wing ``impinges' on the spanwise vorticity generated by the wing during stroke reversal and the distribution of the vorticity is sensitive to the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. (2) The wake effect decreases the lift and increases the drag in the rest part of the half-stroke. This is because the wing moves in a downwash field induced by previous half-stroke's starting vortex, tip vortices and attached leading edge vortex (these vortices form a downwash producing vortex ring). (3) The wake effect decreases the mean lift by 6%–18% (depending on wing kinematics at stroke reversal) and slightly increases the mean drag. Therefore, it is detrimental to the aerodynamic performance of the flapping wing. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10232010) and the National Aeronautic Science Fund of China(03A51049) The English text was polished by Xing Zhang     

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.     

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。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

扑翼柔性及其对气动特性的影响

以往对扑翼气动特性的研究基本上都是基于简单的匀速刚性模型,但是通过大量观察不同飞鸟的扑翼动作发现,该模型与鸟翼的实际扑动还有很大差别。鸟翼不但上扑段和下扑段所需时间不同,而且在扑动过程中,鸟翼的形状无论沿弦向或展向都存在着相当大的柔性变形。本文在原有匀速刚性模型的基础上,加入了扑动速率变化和形状变化的影响,得出新的变速柔性扑翼分析模型,使之更接近鸟翼柔性扑动的真实情况。通过对比计算发现,柔性变形对扑翼的升力与推力都有着显著影响,如果控制得当,柔性变形能大大改善扑翼的气动性能。     

Aerodynamic mechanism of forces generated by twisting model-wing in bat flapping flight

The aerodynamic mechanism of the bat wing membrane Mong the lateral border of its body is studied. The twist-morphing that alters the angle of attack （AOA） along the span-wise direction is observed widely during bat flapping flight. An assumption is made that the linearly distributed AOA is along the span-wise direction. The plate with the aspect ratio of 3 is used to model a bat wing. A three-dimensional （3D） unsteady panel method is used to predict the aerodynamic forces generated by the flapping plate with leading edge separation. It is found that, relative to the rigid wing flapping, twisting motion can increase the averaged lift by as much as 25% and produce thrust instead of drag. Furthermore, the aerodynamic forces （lift/drag） generated by a twisting plate-wing are similar to those of a pitching rigid-wing, meaning that the twisting in bat flight has the same function as the supination/pronation motion in insect flight.