Influence of membrane wing active deformation on the aerodynamic performance of an aircraft model

The aerodynamic performance of a simplified aircraft model with a pair of actively deformed membrane wings is investigated experimentally in this work. The active deformation is achieved with Macro fiber composite(MFC) actuators, which are attached to the upper surface of the wings and occupied 13.7% of the wing surface area. Wind tunnel experiments are conducted to evaluate the influence of membrane active deformation on the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. The results show that the membrane deforms and vibrates under the actuation which can effectively suppress the leading-edge separation and facilitate the reattachment. Therefore, compared with the rigid wing model, the lift coefficient of the actively deformed membrane wing model is enhanced remarkably from the angle of attack of 7° to 22°. The stall angle is delayed by 2°, and a maximum lift coefficient enhancement of 32.5% is reached, which shows a wide potential application in improving the aerodynamic performance of modern aircraft.

Research on Gliding Aerodynamic Effect of Deformable Membrane Wing for a Robotic Flying Squirrel

Inspired by creatures with membrane to obtain ultra-high gliding ability, this paper presents a robotic flying squirrel （a novel gliding robot） characterized as membrane wing and active membrane deformation. For deep understanding of membrane wing and gliding mechanism from a robotic system perspective, a simplified blocking aerodynamic model of the deformable membrane wing and CFD simulation are finished. In addition, a physical prototype is developed and wind tunnel experiments are carried out. The results show that the proposed membrane wing is able to support the gliding action of the robot. Meanwhile, factors including geometry characteristics, material property and wind speed are considered in the experiments to investigate the aerodynamic effects of the deformable membrane wing deeply. As a typical characteristic of robotic flying squirrel, deformation modes of the membrane wing not only affect the gliding ability, but also directly determine the effects of the posture adjustment. Moreover, different deformation modes of membrane wing are illustrated to explore the possible effects of active membrane deformation on the gliding performance. The results indicate that the deformation modes have a significant impact on posture adjustment, which reinforces the rationality of flying squirrel＇s gliding strategy and provides valuable information on prototype optimal design and control strategy in the actual gliding process.

SEM Observation of the Wing Membrane of Beipiaopterus chenianus (Pterosauria)

The cross-section and surface structures of wing membranes from the ctenochasmatid pterosaur Beipiaopterus chenianus were observed through a scanning electron microscope （SEM）. The results show that the wing membrane contains a high density of blood vessels, implying strong thermoregulatory function, similar to that of a bat wing membrane. This is the first comparison of the microstmctures of pterosaur wing membranes with those of the modem bat. It is inferred that a bat-like physiology exists, at least in relatively small pterosaurs suggesting that these pterosaurs were warm-blooded, active fliers.

Dispersal and germination of winged seeds of Brandisia hancei,a shrub in karst regions of China

Brandisia hancei(Paulowniaceae)is a widely distributed shrub in karst regions in southwestern China.Its seeds have a membranous wing,and they mature just before the rainy season begins.To assess the effect of the wing on seed dispersal and germination of B.hancei,we measured the dispersal distance at varying wind speeds and release heights,falling duration from different release heights,floating duration on still water,rates of imbibition of water,and drying and soil adherence to seeds.Germination experiments were conducted on intact and de-winged seeds immediately after harvest.The wing increased the falling duration in still air and the floating ability on water.Dispersal distance of winged and de-winged seeds did not differ at a wind speed of 2.8 m s1,but at 3.6 and 4.0 m s1 dispersal distances were greater for de-winged than for winged seeds.Seed wing had little effect of absorption and retention of water,but significantly increased soil adherence to the seeds.Mature seeds were non-dormant and germinated to over 90%with a mean germination time of about 10 days.By combining the environmental conditions in karst habitat with the seed traits of B.hancei,we conclude that dispersal and germination of winged seeds are adapted to the precipitation seasonality in heterogeneous habitats absence of soil.

Nanoindentation Mechanical Properties and Structural Biomimetic Models of Three Species of Insects Wings

Mimicking insect flights were used to design and develop new engineering materials. Although extensive research was done to study various aspects of flying insects. Because the detailed mechanics and underlying principles involved in insect flights remain largely unknown. A systematic study was carried on insect flights by using a combination of several advanced techniques to develop new models for the simulation and analysis of the wing membrane and veins of three types of insect wings, namely dragonfly （Pantala flavescens Fabricius）, honeybee （Apis cerana cerana Fabricius） and fly （Sarcophaga carnaria Linnaeus）. In order to gain insights into the flight mechanics of insects, reverse engineering methods were used to establish three-dimensional geometrical models of the membranous wings, so we can make a comparative analysis. Then nano-mechanical test of the three insect wing membranes was performed to provide experimental parameter values for mechanical models in terms of nano-hardness and elastic modulus. Finally, a computational model was established by using the finite element analysis （ANSYS） to analyze and compare the wings under a variety of simplified load regimes that are concentrated force, uniform line-load and a torque. This work opened up the possibility towards developing an engineering basis for the biomimetic design of thin solid films and 2D advanced engineering composite materials.

Gust response of an elasto-flexible morphing wing using fluid–structure interaction simulations

Small and micro unmanned aircraft are the focus of scientific interest due to their wide range of applications.They often operate in a highly unstable flight environment where the application of new morphing wing technologies offers the opportunity to improve flight characteristics.The investigated concept comprises port and starboard adjustable wings,and an adaptive elastoflexible membrane serves as the lifting surface.The focus is on the benefits of the deforming membrane during the impact of a one-minus-cosine type gust.At a low Reynolds number of Re=264000,the morphing wing model is investigated numerically by unsteady fluid-structure interaction simulations.First,the numerical results are validated by experimental data from force and moment,flow field,and deformation measurements.Second,with the rigid wing as the baseline,the flexible case is investigated,focusing on the advantages of the elastic membrane.For all configurations studied,the maximum amplitude of the lift coefficient under gust load shows good agreement between the experimental and numerical results.During the decay of the gust,they differ more the higher the aspect ratio of the wing.When considering the flow field,the main differences are due to the separation behavior on the upper side of the wing.The flow reattaches earlier in the experiments than in the simulations,which explains the higher lift values observed in the former.Only at one intermediate configuration does the lift amplitude of the rigid configuration exceeds that of the flexible by about 12%,with the elastic membrane resulting in a smaller and more uniform peak load,which is also evident in the wing loading and hence in the root bending moment.

Flapping wing micro-aerial-vehicle： Kinematics, membranes, and flapping mechanisms of ornithopter and insect flight

The application of biomimetics in the development of unmanned-aerial-vehicles （UAV） has advanced to an exceptionally small scale of nano-aerial-vehicles （NAV）, which has surpassed its immediate predecessor of micro-aerial-vehicles （MAV）, leaving a vast range of development possi- bilities that MAVs have to offer. Because of the prompt advancement into the NAV research devel- opment, the true potential and challenges presented by MAV development were never solved, understood, and truly uncovered, especially under the influence of transition and low Reynolds number flow characteristics. This paper reviews a part of previous MAV research developments which are deemed important of notification; kinematics, membranes, and flapping mechanisms ranges from small birds to big insects, which resides within the transition and low Reynolds number regimes. This paper also reviews the possibility of applying a piezoelectric transmission used to pro- duce NAV flapping wing motion and mounted on a MAV, replacing the conventional motorized flapping wing transmission. Findings suggest that limited work has been done for MAVs matching these criteria. The preferred research approach has seen bias towards numerical analysis as compared to experimental analysis.

On the vein-stiffening membrane structure of a dragonfly hind wing

Aiming at exploring the excellent structural performance of the vein-stiffening membrane structure of dragonfly hind wings,we analyzed two planar computational models and three 3D computational models with cambered corrugation based on the finite element method.It is shown that the vein size in different zones is proportional to the magnitude of the vein internal force when the wing structure is subjected to uniform out-of-plane transverse loading.The membrane contributes little to the flexural stiffness of the planar wing models,while exerting an immense impact upon the stiffness of the 3D wing models with cambered corrugation.If a lumped mass of 10% of the wing is fixed on the leading edge close to the wing tip,the wing fundamental fre-quency decreases by 10.7%～13.2%;if a lumped mass is connected to the wing via multiple springs,the wing fundamental fre-quency decreases by 16.0%～18.0%.Such decrease in fundamental frequency explains the special function of the wing pterostigma in alleviating the wing quivering effect.These particular features of dragonfly wings can be mimicked in the design of new-style reticulately stiffening thin-walled roof systems and flapping wings in novel intelligent aerial vehicles.

Application and Improvements of the Wing Deformation Capture with Simulation for Flapping Micro Aerial Vehicle

Wing deformation capture with simulation is a mixed experimental-numerical approach whereby the wing deformation during flapping is captured using high-speed cameras and used as an input for the numerical solver.This is an alternative approach compared to pure experiment or full fluid structure interaction simulation.This study is an update to the previous paper by Tay et al.,which aims to address the previous limitations.We show through thrust and vorticity contour plots that this approach can simulate Flapping Micro Aerial Vehiclex(FMAVs)with reasonable accuracy.Next,we use this approach to explain the thrust improvement when an additional rib is added to the original membrane wing,which is due to longer duration for the new wing to open during the fling stage.Lastly,by decreasing the number of points and frames per cycle on the wing,we can simplify and shorten the digitization process.These results show that this approach is an accurate and practical alternative which can be applied to general bio-inspired research.

Aerodynamic analysis of a generic wing featuring an elasto-flexible lifting surface

A three-dimensional-membrane-type wing is investigated applying fluid-structure-interaction computations and complementary experiments.An analysis for three Reynolds numbers is conducted at various angles of attack.The computations are performed by means of the TAU-Code and the FEM Carat++solver.Wind-tunnel tests are carried out for performance analysis and to estimate the accuracy of the computations.In the results,the advantages of an elasto-flexible-lifting-surface concept are highlighted by comparing the formvariable surface to its rigid counterpart.The flexibility of the material and its adaptivity to the freestream allow the membrane to adjust its shape to the pressure distribution.For positive angles of attack,the airfoil’s camber increases resulting in an increase in the wing lifting capacity.Furthermore,the stall onset is postponed to higher angles of attack and the abrupt decrease in the lift is replaced by a gradual loss of it.

Nanomechanical Behaviour of the Membranous Wings of Dragonfly Pantala flavescens Fabricius

The dragonfly has excellent flying capacity and its wings are typical 2-dimensional composite materials in micro-scale or nano-scale. The nanomechanical behavior of dragonfly membranous wings was investigated with a nanoindenter. It was shown that the maxima of the reduced modulus and nanohardness of the in-vivo and fresh dragonfly wings are about at position of 0.7L, where L is the wing length. It was found that the reduced modulus and nanohardness of radius of the wings of dragonfly are large. The reduced modulus and nanohardness of Costa, Radius and Postal veins of the in-vivo dragonfly wings are larger than those of the fresh ones. The deformation, stress and strain under the uniform load were analyzed with finite element simulation software ANSYS. The deformation is little and the distribution trend of the strain is probably in agreement with that of the stress. It is shown that the main veins have better stabilities and load-bearing capacities. The understanding of dragonfly wings＇ nanomechanical properties would provide some references for improving some properties of 2-dimentional composite materials through the biomimetic designs. The realization of nanomechanical properties of dragonfly wings will provide inspirations for designing some new structures and materials of mechanical parts.

Static strength analysis of dragonfly inspired wings for biomimetic micro aerial vehicles

This article examines the suitability of fabricating artificial, dragonfly-like, wing frames from materials that are commonly used in unmanned aircraft （balsa wood, black graphite carbon fiber and red prepreg fiberglass）. Wing frames made with Type 321 stainless steel are also examined for comparison. The purpose of these wings is for future use in biomimetic micro aerial vehicles （BMAV）. BMAV are a new class of unmanned micro-sized aerial vehicles that mimic flying biolog- ical organisms （like flying insects）. Insects, such as dragonflies, possess corrugated and complex vein structures that are difficult to mimic. Simplified dragonfly-like wing frames were fabricated from these materials and then a nano-composite film was adhered to them, which mimics the membrane of an actual dragonfly. Finite element analysis simulations were also performed and compared to experimental results. The results showed good agreement （less than 10% difference for all cases）. Analysis of these results shows that stainless steel is a poor choice for this wing configuration, pri- marily because of the aggressive oxidation observed. Steel, as well as balsa wood, also lacks flexi- bility. In comparison, black graphite carbon fiber and red prepreg fiberglass offer some structural advantages, making them more suitable for consideration in future BMAV applications.