Micro air vehicle-motivated computational biomechanics in bio-flights:aerodynamics,flight dynamics and maneuvering stability

Aiming at developing an effective tool to unveil key mechanisms in bio-flight as well as to provide guidelines for bio-inspired micro air vehicles（MAVs） design,we propose a comprehensive computational framework,which integrates aerodynamics,flight dynamics,vehicle stability and maneuverability.This framework consists of（1） a Navier-Stokes unsteady aerodynamic model;（2） a linear finite element model for structural dynamics;（3） a fluidstructure interaction（FSI） model for coupled flexible wing aerodynamics aeroelasticity;（4） a free-flying rigid body dynamic（RBD） model utilizing the Newtonian-Euler equations of 6DoF motion;and（5） flight simulator accounting for realistic wing-body morphology,flapping-wing and body kinematics,and a coupling model accounting for the nonlinear 6DoF flight dynamics and stability of insect flapping flight.Results are presented based on hovering aerodynamics with rigid and flexible wings of hawkmoth and fruitfly.The present approach can support systematic analyses of bio- and bio-inspired flight.

Model Identification of a Micro Air Vehicle

This paper is focused on the model identification of a Micro Air Vehicle （MAV） in straight steady flight condition. The identification is based on input-output data collected from flight tests using both frequency and time dorrtain techniques. The vehicle is an in-house 40 cm wingspan airplane. Because of the complex coupled, multivariable and nonlinear dynamics of the aircraft, linear SISO structures for both the lateral and longitudinal models around a reference state were derived. The aim of the identification is to provide models that can be used in future development of control techniques for the MAV.

Human Memory/Learning Inspired Control Method for Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicles

The problem of flapping motion control of Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) with flapping wings was studied in this paper.Based upon the knowledge of skeletal and muscular components of hummingbird, a dynamic model for flapping wing wasdeveloped.A control scheme inspired by human memory and learning concept was constructed for wing motion control ofMAVs.The salient feature of the proposed control lies in its capabilities to improve the control performance by learning fromexperience and observation on its current and past behaviors, without the need for system dynamic information.Furthermore,the overall control scheme has a fairly simple structure and demands little online computations, making it attractive for real-timeimplementation on MAVs.Both theoretical analysis and computer simulation confirms its effectiveness.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from morphing wing motions for micro air vehicles

Wing flapping and morphing can be very beneficial to managing the weight of micro air vehicles through coupling the aerodynamic forces with stability and control. In this letter, harvesting energy from the wing morphing is studied to power cameras, sensors, or communication devices of micro air vehicles and to aid in the management of their power. The aerodynamic loads on flapping wings are simulated using a three-dimensional unsteady vortex lattice method. Active wing shape morphing is considered to enhance the performance of the flapping motion. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to pinpoint the optimal kinematics maximizing the propellent efficiency. To benefit from the wing deformation, we place piezoelectric layers near the wing roots. Gauss law is used to estimate the electrical harvested power. We demonstrate that enough power can be generated to operate a camera. Numerical analysis shows the feasibility of exploiting wing morphing to harvest energy and improving the design and performance of micro air vehicles.

Development of the NWPU20 Micro Air Vehicle

This paper reports the design, construction, and operation of NWPU20 Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), which is the smallest that has, up to now, been developed in PR China. The miniaturization level in PR China makes smaller MAV, in our opinion, not possible to implement. The NWPU20 is a 20-centimeter span, battery powered, fixed-wing aircraft with an off-the-shelf color video camera that can transmit live video back to the ground station. The on-board electronic subsystems are smallest and lightest among the commercial products, including an 8-gram wireless video camera, an 8-gram receiver, a 5-gram electronic speed controller (ESC), two 4.5-gram fully proportional radio frequency control servos, and the total mass of NWPU20 is less than 80 grams. An experimental model was fabricated and tested in the Low Turbulent Flow Wind Tunnel (LTFWT) at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU) to research low Reynolds number flow characteristics of the NWPU20. The result of the wind tunnel test shows that stall angle of attack of NWPU20 can reach 30°, which is higher than that of the general aircrafts, and the maximum lift-to-drag ratio of NWPU20 can nearly reach 6 at the angle of attack of 10°, which can satisfy design requirements of the NWPU20. A small-sized propulsion/torque testing system was developed to measure and analyze the propulsion and torque performances of the motor-propeller combination used in the NWPU20. A center of gravity (c.g.) testing apparatus was developed and used to adjust the c.g. of the NWPU20 so that it has good longitudinal static stability and control. The NWPU20 prototype has undergone successfully flight tests many times; it flies at 32 kilometers per hour, with an endurance of 15 minutes, and a maximum communications range of 300 meters. With the color video camera, NWPU20 successfully transmits real-time video back to the ground station. The success of NWPU20 proves preliminarily that 20-centimeter span micro air vehicle is feasible and usable.

Kinematic and Aerodynamic Modelling of Bi- and Quad-Wing Flapping Wing Micro-Air-Vehicle

A generic approach to model the kinematics and aerodynamics of flapping wing ornithopter has been followed, to model and analyze a flapping bi- and quad-wing ornithopter and to mimic flapping wing biosystems to produce lift and thrust for hovering and forward flight. Considerations are given to the motion of a rigid and thin bi-wing and quad-wing ornithopter in flapping and pitching motion with phase lag. Basic Unsteady Aerodynamic Approach incorporating salient features of viscous effect and leading-edge suction are utilized. Parametric study is carried out to reveal the aerodynamic characteristics of flapping bi- and quad-wing ornithopter flight characteristics and for comparative analysis with various selected simple models in the literature, in an effort to develop a flapping bi- and quad-wing ornithopter models. In spite of their simplicity, results obtained for both models are able to reveal the mechanism of lift and thrust, and compare well with other work.

Low-Power Operational Amplifier for Real-Time Signal Processing System of Micro Air Vehicle

A low-power complementary metal oxide semiconductor（CMOS） operational amplifier （op-amp） for real-time signal processing of micro air vehicle （MAV） is designed in this paper.Traditional folded cascode architecture with positive channel metal oxide semiconductor（PMOS） differential input transistors and sub-threshold technology are applied under the low supply voltage.Simulation results show that this amplifier has significantly low power,while maintaining almost the same gain,bandwidth and other key performances.The power required is only 0.12 mW,which is applicable to low-power and low-voltage real-time signal acquisition and processing system.

Passive attitude stabilization of ionic-wind-powered micro air vehicles

The ionic-wind-powered Micro Air Vehicles(MAVs)can achieve a higher thrust-toweight ratio than other MAVs.However,this kind of MAV has not yet achieved controlled flight because of the unstable thrust produced by the ionic wind and the dynamic instability related to the small size.In this paper,a passive attitude stabilization method of the ionic-wind-powered MAV using air dampers is introduced.The key factors that influence the performance of the air dampers,including the layout,position,and area of the air dampers,are theoretically studied.The appropriate optimal position of the air dampers is also obtained by Monte Carlo stochastic simulations.Then the proposed passive attitude stabilization method is applied to the ionic-wind-powered MAVs of different wingspan(2 cm and 6.3 cm).Finally,the experimental results show that using the proposed method,attitude stabilization is achieved for the first time for the ionic-wind-powered MAV.Moreover,the altitude control of an ionic-wind-powered MAV with a wingspan of 6.3 cm is also demonstrated.

道路交通排放对周边环境影响的分析——以兰州市安宁区学府路为例

探究城市道路中机动车污染物的排放对周边环境的影响,对环境治理起着至关重要的作用。通常通过分析污染物的影响因素,来建立排放模型。根据研究尺度的不同,将应用较广泛的模型进行划分,并对模型原理、应用及存在不足等方面进行归纳和总结。为了探究学府路道路污染状况,选取COPERT模型进行污染物排放量的测算,并使用ANSYS软件模拟了道路交通排放对学府路周边环境的影响,得出了污染物地图。结果表明:学府路工作日内4项主要大气污染物NO_(2)、CO、PM_(2.5)、PM_(10)排放量分别为67.7、269.1、15.1和22.8 t。数量占10.0%的轻型货车排放贡献较大,分别占机动车NO_(2)和PM排放总量的50.5%和69.1%。通过模拟值与实测值的对比发现,COPERT模型对于中观尺度的研究具有较好的支撑。

Flight mechanism and design of biomimetic micro air vehicles

This paper summaries the investigations on natural flyers and development of bio-mimetic micro air vehicles(MAVs)at NUAA,China,where the authors have led a group to conduct research for a decade. The investigations include the studies of low Reynolds number aerodynamics,unsteady computational fluid dynamics and flight control for the fixed-wing MAVs,the bird-like MAVs,the dragonfly-like MAVs and the bee-like MAVs.

An experimental study of elastic properties of dragonfly-like flapping wings for use in biomimetic micro air vehicles(BMAVs)

This article studies the elastic properties of several biomimetic micro air vehicle（BMAV）wings that are based on a dragonfly wing.BMAVs are a new class of unmanned micro-sized air vehicles that mimic the flapping wing motion of flying biological organisms（e.g.,insects,birds,and bats）.Three structurally identical wings were fabricated using different materials：acrylonitrile butadiene styrene（ABS）,polylactic acid（PLA）,and acrylic.Simplified wing frame structures were fabricated from these materials and then a nanocomposite film was adhered to them which mimics the membrane of an actual dragonfly.These wings were then attached to an electromagnetic actuator and passively flapped at frequencies of 10-250 Hz.A three-dimensional high frame rate imaging system was used to capture the flapping motions of these wings at a resolution of 320 pixels x 240 pixels and 35000 frames per second.The maximum bending angle,maximum wing tip deflection,maximum wing tip twist angle,and wing tip twist speed of each wing were measured and compared to each other and the actual dragonfly wing.The results show that the ABS wing has considerable flexibility in the chordwise direction,whereas the PLA and acrylic wings show better conformity to an actual dragonfly wing in the spanwise direction.Past studies have shown that the aerodynamic performance of a BMAV flapping wing is enhanced if its chordwise flexibility is increased and its spanwise flexibility is reduced.Therefore,the ABS wing（fabricated using a 3D printer） shows the most promising results for future applications.

Generation of Control Moments in an Insect-like Tailless Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle by Changing the Stroke-plane Angle

We propose a control moment generator to control the attitude of an insect-like tailless Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle （FW-MAV）, where the flapping wings simultaneously produce the flight force and control moments. The generator tilts the stroke plane of each wing independently to direct the resultant aerodynamic force in the desired direction to ultimately generate pitch and yaw moments. A roll moment is produced by an additional mechanism that shifts the trailing edge, which changes the wing rotation angles of the two flapping wings and produces an asymmetric thrust. Images of the flapping wings are captured with a high-speed camera and clearly show that the FW-MAV can independently change the stroke planes of its two wings. The measured force and moment data prove that the control moment generator produces reasonable pitch and yaw moments by tilting the stroke plane and realizes a roll moment by shifting the position of the trailing edge at the wing root.

Structural Characteristics of Allomyrina Dichotoma Beetle＇s Hind Wings for Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

In this study, we present a complete structural analysis ofAllomyrina dichotoma beetle＇s hind wings by investigating their static and dynamic characteristics. The wing was subjected to the static loading to determine its overall flexural stiffness. Dy- namic characteristics such as natural frequency, mode shape, and damping ratio of vibration modes in the operating frequency range were determined using a Bruel ＆ Kjaer fast Fourier transform analyzer along with a laser sensor. The static and dynamic characteristics of natural Allomyrina dichotoma beetle＇s hind wings were compared to those of a fabricated artificial wing. The results indicate that natural frequencies of the natural wing were significantly correlated to the wing surface area density that was defined as the wing mass divided by the hind wing surface area. Moreover, the bending behaviors of the natural wing and artificial wing were similar to that of a cantilever beam. Furthermore, the flexural stiffness of the artificial wing was a little higher than that of the natural one whereas the natural frequency of the natural wing was close to that of the artificial wing. These results provide important information for the biomimetic design of insect-scale artificial wings, with which highly ma- neuverable and efficient micro air vehicles can be designed.

Design and Aerodynamic Analysis of Dragonfly-like Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Dragonflies have naturally high flying ability and flight maneuverability,making them more adaptable to harsh ecological environments.In this paper,a flapping wing bionic air vehicle with three-degrees-of-freedom is designed and manufactured by simulating the flight mode of dragonfly.Firstly,the body structure of dragonfly was analyzed,and then the design scheme of flapping wing micro air vehicle was proposed based on the flight motion characteristics and musculoskeletal system of dragonfly.By optimizing the configuration and using Adams to do kinematic simulation,it is shown that the designed structure can make the wings move in an“8”shape trajectory,and the motion in three directions can maintain good consistency,with good dynamic performance.Based on CFD simulation method,we analyzed that the wing has the conditions to achieve flight with good aerodynamic performance at the incoming flow speed of 5 m s^(-1)and frequency of 4 Hz,and studied the effects of angle of attack and flutter frequency on the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft.Finally,the force measurement test of the aircraft prototype is carried out using a force balance and a small wind tunnel.The test results show that the prototype can provide the average lift of 3.62 N and the average thrust of 2.54 N,which are in good agreement with the simulation results.

An Improved Evolvable Oscillator and Basis Function Set for Control of an Insect-Scale Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle

This paper introduces an improved evolvable and adaptive hardware oscillator design capable of supporting adaptation intended to restore control precision in damaged or imperfectly manufactured insect-scale flapping-wing micro air vehicles. It will also present preliminary experimental results demonstrating that previously used basis function sets may have been too large and that significantly improved learning times may be achieved by judiciously culling the oscillator search space. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the application of this adaptive, evolvable oscillator to full vehicle control as well as the consideration of longer term goals and requirements.

Pendulum-like oscillation controller for micro aerial vehicle with ducted fan based on LQR and PSO

This paper describes a novel type of pendulum-like oscillation controller for micro air vehicle(MAV) hover and stare state in the presence of external disturbances,which is based on linear-quadratic regulator(LQR) and particle swarm optimization(PSO).A linear mathematical model of pendulum phenomenon based upon actual wind tunnel test data representing the hover mode is established,and a hybrid LQR and PSO approach is proposed to stabilize oscillation.PSO is applied to parameter optimization of the designed LQR controller.A series of comparative experiments are conducted,and the results have verified the feasibility,effectiveness and robustness of our proposed approach.

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.

微小型四旋翼飞行器的研究现状与关键技术

微小型化是世界无人机发展的重要方向之一。对一种新颖的微小型四旋翼无人飞行器进行了介绍,综合了微小型四旋翼飞行器的概念和特性,然后主要从机构设计和飞行控制两方面介绍了世界微小型四旋翼飞行器的发展现状,详细叙述了小型四旋翼飞行器的发展技术路线。在此基础之上,进一步分析了相关的关键技术问题,并对未来发展、应用前景作了展望。最后介绍了某微小型四旋翼飞行器研究进展情况。

微型飞行器低雷诺数空气动力学

微型飞行器(MAVs)设计绝不是常规飞行器在尺度上的简单缩小,面临许多技术难题．其中微型飞行器低雷诺数空气动力学是其最为根本的技术瓶颈之一,也是当前受到广泛关注的热点之一．本文紧密结合微型飞行器技术,对这一领域中所面临的低雷诺数空气动力学问题和近两年来该方向国内一些新的进展进行了较为详细的介绍．按照MAVs飞行方式和结构特性进行分类,简单介绍微型飞行器研究中的低Re数空气动力学问题．首先介绍了二维和三维固定翼低雷诺数空气动力学问题:包括层流分离泡,翼型升力系数小攻角非线性效应,静态迟滞效应,以及低Re数小展弦比机翼气动特性．第2,介绍了拍动翼低雷诺数空气动力学方面的研究工作．包括前人提出的昆虫低Re数下获得高升力的多种非定常拍动翼飞行机制:Wagner效应、Weis-Fogh效应(clap-and-fling)、延迟失速效应(delayed stall)、Kramer效应(rotational forces)、尾迹捕获效应(wake capture)、附加质量效应(added mass)等．以及国内学者近几年在拍动翼方面取得的一些研究成果．第3,介绍了柔性翼低雷诺数气动问题．研究表明柔性翼对于固定翼微型飞行器提高抗阵风能力,拍动翼微型飞行器产生足够的升力和推力．最后简单介绍了可变形翼(morphing wing)微型飞行器方面的一些研究工作,指出微型飞行器技术可以通过采用可变形翼设计,突破众多的技术瓶颈．另一方面,可变形翼概念可以通过在低成本,低速的MAVs上进行飞行试验,获得非常好的验证平台．

仿生微扑翼飞行器机构动态分析与工程设计方法

以工程应用为背景,从全局的角度提出了一种仿生微扑翼飞行器的动态分析与设计方法。在对鸟类的飞行参数进行统计分析的基础之上,拟合出扑翼飞行的仿生学公式,并据此进行了微扑翼飞行器的仿生学初步设计。根据仿生学结果设计了飞行器的传动布局、动力方案以及总体结构,并按照运动学分析、气动力分析以及动力学分析相结合的动态分析方法研究了微扑翼飞行器的动态特性。在动态分析的基础上进行了飞行参数的优化设计,使得微扑翼飞行器达到性能最佳。样机制作及风洞试验结果证明了这种方法的有效性与可行性。所得研究结论对微扑翼飞行器的设计、制作和应用提供了一定的理论依据。