Computational aerodynamics of low Reynolds number plunging,pitching and flexible wings for MAV applications

Micro air vehicles （MAV＇s） have the potential to revolutionize our sensing and information gathering capabilities in environmental monitoring and homeland security areas. Due to the MAV＇s＇ small size, flight regime, and modes of operation, significant scientific advancement will be needed to create this revolutionary capability. Aerodynamics, structural dynamics, and flight dynamics of natural flyers intersects with some of the richest problems in MAV＇s, inclu- ding massively unsteady three-dimensional separation, transition in boundary layers and shear layers, vortical flows and bluff body flows, unsteady flight environment, aeroelasticity, and nonlinear and adaptive control are just a few examples. A challenge is that the scaling of both fluid dynamics and structural dynamics between smaller natural flyer and practical flying hardware/lab experiment （larger dimension） is fundamentally difficult. In this paper, we offer an overview of the challenges and issues, along with sample results illustrating some of the efforts made from a computational modeling angle.

A simulation-based study on longitudinal gust response of flexible flapping wings

Winged animals such as insects are capable of flying and surviving in an unsteady and unpredictable aerial environment.They generate and control aerodynamic forces by flapping their flexible wings.While the dynamic shape changes of their flapping wings are known to enhance the efficiency of their flight,they can also affect the stability of a flapping wing flyer under unpredictable disturbances by responding to the sudden changes of aerodynamic forces on the wing.In order to test the hypothesis,the gust response of flexible flapping wings is investigated numerically with a specific focus on the passive maintenance of aerodynamic forces by the wing flexibility.The computational model is based on a dynamic flight simulator that can incorporate the realistic morphology,the kinematics,the structural dynamics,the aerodynamics and the fluid-structure interactions of a hovering hawkmoth.The longitudinal gusts are imposed against the tethered model of a hovering hawkmoth with flexible flapping wings.It is found that the aerodynamic forces on the flapping wings are affected by the gust,because of the increase or decrease in relative wingtip velocity or kinematic angle of attack.The passive shape change of flexible wings can,however,reduce the changes in the magnitude and direction of aerodynamic forces by the gusts from various directions,except for the downward gust.Such adaptive response of the flexible structure to stabilise the attitude can be classified into the mechanical feedback,which works passively with minimal delay,and is of great importance to the design of bio-inspired flapping wings for micro-air vehicles.

In-flight deformation measurement for high-aspect-ratio wing based on 3D speckle correlation

In order to get an effective solution of the in-flight wing deformation measurement for high-wing aircrafts with high-aspect-ratio,a method based on three-dimensional(3D)speckle correlation technique is proposed.Firstly,an in-flight wing deformation measurement system with two sets of conjugate cameras is designed based on structural characteristics and test requirements of high-wing aircrafts with large-aspect-ratio.Secondly,the in-flight wing deformation measurement method based on 3D speckle correlation technique is introduced including three aspects:measuring system and wing datum calibration,speckle image matching and 3D reconstruction,and wing deformation analysis.Fi-nally,ground simulation test of dynamic deformation measurement of a scaled model wing and flight test of dynamic deformation measurement of a large transport wing are carried out.The test results show that the measuring accuracy of single point coordinate in ground simulation test is better than 0.1 mm/m,in the airborne vibration environment,the static single-point positioning accuracy is bet-ter than 5 mm,and the in-flight wing deformation measurement data is well received by the flight test engineers.This method can satisfy the requirements of stability,reliability,high precision,non-con-tact and full-field measurement for dynamic deformation measurement of aircraft wing with high-as-pect-ratio.

Propulsion Performance of Spanwise Flexible Wing Using Unsteady Panel Method

In this paper, the propulsion performance of a spanwise flexible oscillating wing, which is broadly similar to the undulation of a fin fluke, is investigated. The geometry of the fluke underwent three prescribed harmonic oscillating motions simultaneously while surging with constant velocity. The effect of deflection phase angle, flexibility parameter, and wing tip deflection amplitude on thrust coefficient and swimming efficiency was studied. A low-order unsteady panel method coupled with a time stepping algorithm for free wake alignment is implemented in a computer program to estimate the propulsion efficiency of lifting bodies. A novel approach is introduced to evaluate the singular integrals of line vortices by using an adaptive mollifier function. This method is an efficient way to accelerate computational speed by reducing the order of problem from R^3 to body boundaries. Results present the significant effect of phase angle on the propulsion characteristics of oscillating fluke.

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.

Stiffness Distribution and Aeroelastic Performance Optimization of High-Aspect-Ratio Wings

The relationship between stiffness distribution and aeroelastic performance for a beam-frame model and a3-D model is investigated based on aeroelastic optimization of global stiffness design for high-aspect-ratio wings.The sensitivity information of wing spanwise stiffness distribution with respect to the twist angle at wing tip,the vertical displacement at wing tip,and the flutter speed are obtained using a sensitivity method for both models.Then the relationship between stiffness distribution and aeroelastic performance is summarized to guide the design procedure.By using the genetic/sensitivity-based hybrid algorithm,an optimal solution satisfying the strength,aeroelastic and manufacturing constraints is obtained.It is found that the summarized guidance is well consistent with the optimal solution,thus providing a valuable design advice with efficiency.The study also shows that the aeroelastic-optimization-based global stiffness design procedure can obtain the optimal solution under multiple constraints with high efficiency and precision,thereby having a strong application value in engineering.

基于“指节”驱动刚柔耦合式变弯度机翼后缘结构的设计方法

利用刚性机构驱动的变形翼,蒙皮易出现不光滑变形的现象,而用柔顺机构设计的变形翼,虽蒙皮曲线光滑,飞机的稳定性和机动性增强,但难以满足变形与承载双重优化。为此,基于“指节”驱动式仿生刚柔耦合的设计思想,本文设计了一种瓦特I型六杆驱动的变弯度机翼后缘三“指节”刚性机构,并建立了可承受气动载荷和光滑变形的柔顺机构拓扑优化方法。先设计了一种由单电机驱动的瓦特I型六杆操控机构,再改进了“指节”式驱动下变形翼后缘的变密度拓扑优化方法,后求解并给出了一种具有三“指节”式杆驱动特点的变弯度后缘柔顺驱动机构,最后对优化模型进行了刚柔体动力学、空气动力学以及流固耦合仿真,并搭建了试验平台和样机模型,对柔性变形翼的可行性及其设计方法有效性进行论证,结果表明该机翼可以光滑、连续地大变形,同时又具有较强的承载能力。

仿绿头鸭扑翼飞行器的低速飞行气动特性仿真研究

针对仿绿头鸭扑翼飞行器,在刚性扑动基础上引入了展向弯折和弦向扭转两种运动方式,提出了4种不同扑动路径的描述方程,并对其低速飞行气动特性进行了研究。首先,根据绿头鸭翼翅外形选择NACA 6411翼型并对其弯度和长度进行修正,通过放样创建扑翼几何构型。之后,基于动网格技术构建扑翼流场网格模型,包含刚性扑动、机翼弯折和机翼扭转等3种不同扑动形态。最后,使用Fluent进行瞬态仿真,基于压力耦合求解器和k-ω湍流模型得到不同扑动形态下飞行速度为2 m/s时的气动特性。结果表明,在低速飞行时,非对称扑动效应、展向弯折效应和弦向扭转效应均可起到增加升力、降低阻力的效果。所提出的3个扑动模型相对传统的对称刚性扑动模型分别能提高3.89%、14.78%、24.44%的升力,其中弯扭组合形式的扑动提供的推力能够抵消前飞时的空气阻力。

带有非均质刚柔耦合翼的无人机边界控制

随着无人机技术的快速发展及工程应用需求的不断增长,具有隐蔽性好、快速灵活及经济性能好等许多优点的扑翼无人机在国民经济生活中发挥着越来越重要的作用.然而,受无人机使用环境限制及自身快速机动运行的特点,扑翼无人机的机翼通常存在连续高频振动,这些不理想的振动会影响系统的稳定性及无人机使用寿命.因此,本文研究带有刚柔耦合翼的扑翼无人机的振动抑制及姿态控制问题.首先,考虑外部干扰对扑翼无人机系统的影响,运用哈密顿原理,将由均质刚性连杆链接非均质柔性连杆组成的扑翼系统建模为无穷维分布参数系统.随后,基于反步法,设计两个边界控制律来镇定系统.运用鲁棒控制策略,构建辅助输入信号及干扰自适应律来抵消外部干扰的影响.通过在无人机本体及刚柔耦合翼的链接处布置传感器及执行器来抵消柔性翼的振动并调节刚性翼及柔性翼的姿态至期望角位置.其后,运用李雅普诺夫稳定性理论严格证明了闭环系统的一致有界稳定性.最后,开展数值仿真实验来证明所设计控制方案的可行性及控制效果.

不同折叠角下含间隙折叠机翼极限环振荡分析

折叠机翼作为变体飞行器的重要变体机构之一,其气动弹性响应规律研究为变体飞行器稳定性及操纵性的提升奠定基础。本文提出基于干风洞的含间隙折叠机翼地面颤振虚拟试验模型建模方法,其中折叠机翼翼面子结构采用Craig-Bampton方法建立其刚柔耦合降阶模型,子结构连接采用线性/非线性弹簧连接,气动力采用偶极子格网法获得并转化为激振器集中力,由于地面颤振试验中气动力建模需基于统一的模态振型,针对含间隙折叠机翼采用虚拟质量法获得统一坐标下的虚拟模态振型。仿真结果表明,基于Craig-Bampton方法建立的线性折叠机翼地面颤振虚拟试验模型预测颤振速度与商用软件相比误差低于2%。当模型中采用非线性弹簧连接时,折叠机翼在低于和高于线性颤振速度下均会形成极限环振荡,仿真表明由于间隙非线性的影响,极限环的临界速度比线性颤振降低。研究发现折叠角0°下间隙大小对极限环幅值具有显著影响,而折叠角30°下间隙大小则对极限环幅值几乎不产生影响。

空间长方形绳网展开动力学及多参数特性分析

空间绳网系统是一种针对空间碎片的柔性捕获系统,针对带有太阳翼的空间目标,提出一种用于捕获目标主体的长方形绳网。为分析其展开效果,建立有限元模型,通过对比地面试验结果来验证有限元模型的可靠性。建立长方形绳网的评价指标,并通过各项评价指标对比不同牵拉模式、牵引绳分布圆直径及牵引体发射角度下的绳网展开特性。结果表明:仿真结果与试验结果吻合,有限元模型可靠;在八点牵拉、十点牵拉和十二点牵拉3种模式下,十点牵拉所能达到的展开效果最好;牵引绳分布圆直径增大,所能达到的最大展开面积和保形距离减小,展开距离增大;牵引体的发射角度增大,长方形绳网的最大展开面积和保形距离增大,展开距离减小。

基于电磁力的机翼非接触式加载试验平台特性研究

目的研究分析基于电磁力的非接触式翼面加载的可行性与适用特点。方法利用多匝铜线绕制的驱动线圈,通入大电流产生强磁场,柔性线圈贴附于机翼表面,柔性线圈中的电流与强磁场相互作用产生较大的电磁力,实现对翼面的稳定加载。建立电磁力加载仿真计算模型,基于该模型分析不同线圈结构时电磁力特性,并设计力学加载平台,开展试验测试。结果对比了柔性线圈和薄铁片2种电磁力加载方式的不同,柔性线圈产生的电磁力比薄铁片小,但具有更好的线性度和可控性。上下布置2个驱动线圈能产生更大电磁力,但需要使2个驱动线圈电流方向相反,电流方向相反时产生的电磁力比方向相同时增强了16倍。减小驱动线圈间距,使柔性线圈靠近驱动线圈,也能显著提高电磁力。开展了力学加载平台试验,柔性线圈产生的电磁力达到57 N,并可持续加载320 s。结论通过试验验证了提出的基于电磁场非接触式翼面加载的可行性,柔性线圈易贴附于机翼表面,可为复合材料、复杂翼形的力学加载测试提供一定参考。

Fluid-structure interaction simulation for multi-body flexible morphing structures

The multi-body flexible morphing airfoil can improve the aerodynamic characteristics based on different flight missions continuously.Recently researches have focused on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of flexible wings under passive actuation.However,the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics with the fluid-structure interaction effects in the multi-body active actuation process of morphing airfoil deserve further investigation.In this paper,a fluid-structure coupled simulation method for multi-body flexible morphing airfoil with active actuation subsystem was investigated,and the aerodynamic characteristics during deformation were compared with different skin flexibility,flow field environment,actuation mode and actuation time.The numerical results show that for the steady aerodynamic,the skin flexibility can improve the stability efficiency.In the unsteady process,the change trend of the transient lift coefficient and pitching moment are consistent with those of the active drive characteristics,while the instantaneous lift-drag ratio coefficient is greatly affected by the driving mode and can be improved by increasing the driving duration.

剪切变后掠角变体机翼结构及柔性蒙皮设计研究

变后掠飞行器可以满足不同飞行条件下的气动要求,对变体机翼而言,蒙皮起到保证气密性以及提供承载的作用,因此在变体机翼的发展史中,可变形蒙皮的研究占据了重要地位。本文首先基于可变平行四边形机构,设计并研制了一种剪切变后掠机翼;然后提出了基于单向纤维增强的复合蒙皮结构,选取橡胶材料和纤维增强橡胶材料作为柔性蒙皮研究对象,建立了蒙皮变形的本构模型,并对柔性蒙皮进行了数值仿真分析与剪切变形试验。本文设计研制的机翼可以实现剪切变后掠功能;柔性蒙皮在剪切变形时,试验结果与数值仿真结果具有良好的一致性;纤维增强橡胶柔性蒙皮具有更优良的抗起皱和承载能力。

仿生折叠翼扑动过程气动特性分析

以甲虫后翅为仿生对象,基于四板机构理论设计了一种仿甲虫四板折叠翼,并对其气动特性进行研究。建立了仿甲虫四板折叠翼动力学仿真模型,采用双向流固耦合数值模拟方法,分析了扑动幅值、拍动频率与前飞速度对柔性折叠翼的升阻力系数和空气流场的影响,并对柔性折叠翼扑动过程进行了流场研究。研究表明,柔性折叠翼能提高飞行器的升力特性和推力特性,其扑动幅值为80°,频率为50Hz时,折叠翼的气动特性最为显著。本研究工作为优化折叠翼的设计及控制奠定了基础。

展弦比对NACA0012弹性平直机翼颤振临界特性影响研究

展弦比是飞行器机翼设计的重要参数,研究其对机翼颤振临界特性的影响具有重要的工程应用价值。本文采用三维雷诺平均N-S方程和S-A湍流模型求解NACA0012弹性平直机翼的非定常气动力,结合由模态法建立的机翼结构动力学方程,发展了计算流体力学(CFD)/计算结构力学(CSD)颤振时域数值模拟方法。利用该方法研究了不同展弦比条件下机翼的颤振临界速度和频率。结果表明,由于展弦比较大且材质轻柔,机翼会出现一定幅度的垂向静弯曲变形。展弦比的增大不会影响机翼模态固有振型,但是会导致机翼颤振临界速度、颤振频率和模态固有频率的降低。

小卫星太阳翼铰链对挠性动力学方程耦合系数的影响

针对小卫星太阳翼机械系统产品选型时,展开机构的铰链类型、铰链刚度对卫星挠性太阳翼系统动力学方程中耦合系数影响规律不明确的情况,文章首先建立带挠性太阳翼的振动方程,给出使用动力学方程中的参量计算附件平动、转动耦合系数的公式;然后,基于小卫星常用的两种铰链类型以及铰链不同刚度,采用有限元法,对比相同卫星构型下铰链对太阳翼展开模态的影响;并获取相应的太阳翼振型、质量与质量元位置参数;最后,以某小卫星太阳翼为例,基于动力学方程中的耦合系数计算方法,采用输出参量与数据处理软件相结合方式,开展了不同铰链对耦合系数和铰链选型的影响分析。结果表明:文章分析的不同铰链、刚度的太阳翼结构参数以及耦合系数变化规律,对于铰链的设计和选型具有理论参考价值。

基于大变形加载及精确测量的轻质机翼静强度试验技术

针对轻质柔性机翼在静强度试验中载荷量级小、受载变形大等特点,本文提出了一种大变形轻质机翼静强度试验的加载与测试方法,制定了包括试验件支持与约束、试验载荷分配、试验加载及控制、试验测量与采集的试验技术方案。通过应用预偏加载技术、伺服电机协调加载控制技术和MPS实时工业摄影测量技术等,实现了对轻质柔性机翼的静强度试验验证,满足试验要求,可为后续同类试验提供借鉴与参考。

Effects of wing deformation on aerodynamic performance of a revolving insect wing

Flexible wings of insects and bio-inspired micro air vehicles generally deform remarkably during flapping flight owing to aerodynamic and inertial forces,which is of highly nonlinear fluid-structure interaction（FSI）problems.To elucidate the novel mechanisms associated with flexible wing aerodynamics in the low Reynolds number regime,we have built up a FSI model of a hawkmoth wing undergoing revolving and made an investigation on the effects of flexible wing deformation on aerodynamic performance of the revolving wing model.To take into account the characteristics of flapping wing kinematics we designed a kinematic model for the revolving wing in two-fold：acceleration and steady rotation,which are based on hovering wing kinematics of hawkmoth,Manduca sexta.Our results show that both aerodynamic and inertial forces demonstrate a pronounced increase during acceleration phase,which results in a significant wing deformation.While the aerodynamic force turns to reduce after the wing acceleration terminates due to the burst and detachment of leading-edge vortices（LEVs）,the dynamic wing deformation seem to delay the burst of LEVs and hence to augment the aerodynamic force during and even after the acceleration.During the phase of steady rotation,the flexible wing model generates more ver-tical force at higher angles of attack（40°–60°）but less horizontal force than those of a rigid wing model.This is because the wing twist in spanwise owing to aerodynamic forces results in a reduction in the effective angle of attack at wing tip,which leads to enhancing the aerodynamics performance by increasing the vertical force while reducing the horizontal force.Moreover,our results point out the importance of the fluid-structure interaction in evaluating flexible wing aerodynamics：the wing deformation does play a significant role in enhancing the aerodynamic performances but works differently during acceleration and steady rotation,which is mainly induced by inertial force in acceleration but by aerodynamic forces in steady rotation.

Aerodynamic Analysis and Simulation of Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicles on Hovering

In order to design and verify control algorithms for flapping wing aerial vehicles(FWAVs),calculation models of the translational force,rotational force and virtual mass force were established with the basis on the modified quasi-steady aerodynamic theory and high lift mechanisms of insect flight.The simulation results show that the rotational force and virtual mass force can be ignored in the hovering FWAVs with simple harmonic motions in a cycle.The effects of the wing deformation on aerodynamic forces were investigated by regarding the maximum rotational angle of wingtip as a reference variable.The simulation results also show that the average lift coefficient increases and drag coefficient decreases with the increase of the maximum rotational angle of wingtip in the range of 0-90°.