Lift and Thrust Characteristics of Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicle with Pitching and Flapping Motion

Development of flapping wing aerial vehicle (FWAV) has been of interest in the aerospace community with ongoing research into unsteady and low Reynolds number aerodynamics based on the vortex lattice method. Most of the previous research has been about pitching and plunging motion of the FWAV. With pitching and flapping motion of FMAV, people usually study it by experiment, and little work has been done by numerical calculation. In this paper, three-dimension unsteady vortex lattice method is applied to study the lift and thrust of FWAV with pitching and flapping motion. The results show that: 1) Lift is mainly produced during down stroke, however, thrust is produced during both down stroke and upstroke. The lift and thrust produced during down stroke are much more than that produced during upstroke. 2) Lift and thrust increase with the increase of flapping frequency;3) Thrust increases with the increase of flapping amplitude, but the lift decreases with the increase of flapping amplitude;4) Lift and thrust increase with the increase of mean pitching angle, but the effect on lift is much more than on thrust. This research is helpful to understand the flight mechanism of birds, thus improving the design of FWAV simulating birds.

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.

Design and Experimental Verification of a Roll Control Strategy for Large Wingspan Flapping-Wing Aerial Vehicle

Most flapping-wing aircraft wings use a single degree of freedom to generate lift and thrust by flapping up and down,while relying on the tail control surfaces to manage attitude.However,these aircraft have certain limitations,such as poor accuracy in attitude control and inadequate roll control capabilities.This paper presents a design for an active torsional mechanism at the wing's trailing edge,which enables differential variations in the pitch angle of the left and right wings during flapping.This simple mechanical form significantly enhances the aircraft's roll control capacity.The experimental verification of this mechanism was conducted in a wind tunnel using the RoboEagle flapping-wing aerial vehicle that we developed.The study investigated the effects of the control strategy on lift,thrust,and roll moment during flapping flight.Additionally,the impact of roll control on roll moment was examined under various wind speeds,flapping frequencies,angles of attack,and wing flexibility.Furthermore,several rolling maneuver flight tests were performed to evaluate the agility of RoboEagle,utilizing both the elevon control strategy and the new roll control strategy.The results demonstrated that the new roll control strategy effectively enhances the roll control capability,thereby improving the attitude control capabilities of the flapping-wing aircraft in complex wind field environments.This conclusion is supported by a comparison of the control time,maximum roll angle,average roll angular velocity,and other relevant parameters between the two control strategies under identical roll control input.

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.

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°.

Stress Analysis of Membrane Flapping-Wing Aerial Vehicle Based on Different Material Models

Recent studies of flapping-wing aerial vehicles have been focused on the aerodynamic performance based on linear materials. Little work has been done on structural analysis based on nonlinear material models. A stress analysis is conducted in this study on membrane flapping-wing aerial vehicles using finite element method based on three material models, namely, linear elastic, Mooney-Rivlin non linear, and composite material models. The purpose of this paper is to understand how different types of materials affect the stresses of a flapping-wing. In the finite element simulation, each flapping cycle is divided into twelve stages and the maximum stress is calculated in each stage. The results show that 1) there are two peak stress values in one flapping cycle;one at the beginning stage of down stroke and the other at the beginning of upstroke, 2) maximum stress at the beginning of down stroke is greater than that at the beginning of upstroke, 3) maximum stress based on each material model is different. The composite and the Mooney-Rivlin nonlinear models produce much less stresses compared to the linear material model;and 4) the ratio of downstroke maximum stress and upstroke maximum stress varies with different material models. This research is helpful in answering why insect wings are so impeccable, thus providing a possibility of improving the design of flapping-wing aerial vehicles.

Co-simulation and Experimental Study for Wingspan of Flapping Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle

The 3D model of flapping wing mechanism and veins is constructed in 3D computer aided design (CAD) software UG.Then the co-simulation model is established by using multibody dynamics software ADAMS and MATLAB.The validation of this co-simulation model is verified by comparing the simulation results with final experiments.The simulation results and experiments reveal that the relation between flapping frequency and driving voltage of motor is approximately linear under various wingspans.The variance of flapping frequency among different wingspans augments gradually with increasing voltage.Furthermore,the simulation results suggest that flapping frequency is sensitive to wingspan and decreases with increasing wingspan of veins,and the relation between flapping frequency and moment of inertia of veins is also approximately linear for various voltages.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Increased Downstroke Duration for an FWAV with Morphing-coupled Wing Flapping Configuration

This paper is based on a previously developed bio-inspired Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicle(FWAV),RoboFalcon,which can fly with a morphing-coupled flapping pattern.In this paper,a simple flapping stroke control system based on Hall effect sensors is designed and applied,which is capable of assigning different up-and down-stroke speeds for the RoboFalcon platform to achieve an adjustable downstroke ratio.The aerodynamic and power characteristics of the morphing-coupled flapping pattern and the conventional flapping pattern with varying downstroke ratios are measured through a wind tunnel experiment,and the corresponding aerodynamic models are developed and analyzed by the nonlinear least squares method.The relatively low power consumption of the slow-downstroke mode of this vehicle is verified through outdoor flight tests.The results of wind tunnel experiments and flight tests indicate that increased downstroke duration can improve aerodynamic and power performance for the RoboFalcon platform.

具有不确定性的扑翼微型飞行器抗干扰控制

研究了具有内部不确定性和外部干扰的扑翼微型飞行器的姿态和位置跟踪控制问题。利用神经网络对扑翼微型飞行器数学模型中复杂非线性和不确定性进行逼近估计,同时对于外部扰动,采用自适应技术来处理干扰对系统的影响。基于反步递推框架,引入一阶滤波器,设计了动态表面控制器,克服了传统反步递推设计中“微分爆炸”的局限性。进一步,利用Lyapunov稳定理论证明了扑翼飞行器姿态和位置闭环系统的稳定性和所有状态变量的半全局一致最终有界性。结果表明,所提控制器不仅能够使稳态误差更好地收敛,而且还提高了收敛速度。仿真结果验证了所提控制方法能够有效地处理不确定性和外部干扰,且能够很好地跟踪期望轨迹。

Design and experimental study of a new flapping wing rotor micro aerial vehicle

A three-wing Flapping Wing Rotor Micro Aerial Vehicle(FWR-MAV)which can perform controlled flight is introduced and an experimental study on this vehicle is presented.A mechanically driven flapping rotary mechanism is designed to drive the three flapping wings and generate lift,and control mechanisms are designed to control the pose of the FWR-MAV.A flight control board for attitude control with robust onboard attitude estimation and a control algorithm is also developed to perform stable hovering flight and forward flight.A series of flight tests was conducted,with hovering flight and forward flight tests performed to optimize the control parameters and assess the performance of the FWR-MAV.The hovering flight test shows the ability of the FWR-MAV to counteract the moment generated by rotary motion and maintain the attitude of the FWR-MAV in space;the experiment of forward flight shows that the FWR-MAV can track the desired attitude.

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.

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.

面向扑翼飞行机器人的飞行控制研究进展综述

近十年来,研究人员从飞行生物的飞行机理着手分析,对扑翼飞行机器人的姿态控制、位置控制设计以及系统稳定性分析展开了深入研究,基于鲁棒控制、神经网络等技术,提出了诸多控制方法实现扑翼飞行机器人的自主飞行,其中,姿态控制通过自适应等控制器并结合线性化方法来实现,位置控制则通过搭建层级架构的控制器等方法来完成,并通过设计扰动观测器等来处理系统的不确定性,以提高系统稳定性能.通过对相关研究工作进行总结,可以看出目前扑翼飞行机器人的飞行控制研究仍大多处于理论阶段,还需要进一步结合工程应用中的实际需求,推进扑翼飞行机器人的应用与推广.最后,探讨了扑翼飞行机器人飞行控制未来的研究方向.

基于ACP理论的微型扑翼飞行器的姿态控制

微型扑翼飞行器(Flapping wing micro aerial vehicle,FWMAV)因飞行效率高、质量轻、耗能低、机动性强等显著优点,在飞行器研究和应用中占据重要地位.目前,FWMAV姿态控制成为飞行器控制研究领域的研究热点.针对FWMAV姿态控制问题,基于平行智能理论框架提出了一种FWMAV抗扰动姿态控制器.通过建立人工系统(Artificial systems,A)、计算实验(Computational experiments,C)、平行执行(Parallel execution,P)三个过程,得到一个能够有效解决FWMAV姿态控制过程中扰动问题的控制器,并通过理论分析和数值仿真证明了该控制器的有效性.

Aerodynamic performance of hovering micro revolving wings in ground and ceiling effects at low Reynolds number

Numerous investigations have been conducted to understand the wall effects on rotors.The purpose of this study is to further investigate the aerodynamic performance of revolving wings,especially when it is very close to the ground and ceiling(i.e.,less than half the wingspan)at low Reynolds numbers.Hence,the ground and ceiling effect for hovering micro revolving wings at low Reynolds numbers are investigated by improving the theoretical models.The theoretical model for the ground effect is established based on the wall-jet assumption,and that for the ceiling effect is improved by considering the uneven spanwise distribution of induced velocity.These two models are validated by comparing the results of experiments and CFD simulations with the Lattice-Boltzmann Method(LBM).Both ground and ceiling effects are found helpful to enhance the thrust,especially with small wing-wall distances,by making a difference to the induced velocity and the pressure distribution.By comparing the thrust generation and aerodynamic efficiency between the ground and ceiling effects,the former is found more helpful to the thrust augmentation,and the latter is more beneficial for the aerodynamic efficiency promotion.

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.

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.

Liftoff of a New Hovering Oscillating-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle

Hovering ability forms the basis for space operations of Micro Aerial Vehicles(MAVs).The problem of uneven load puts high demands on the wing design.In this paper,a new hovering-mode for MAVs,inspired by flapping flight in bees and hummingbirds but using high-aspect-ratio and low-stress wings,is proposed.Different from the flapping actuations that occur at the wing roots,the two wings are driven back and forth in a straight line.To simplify the design and control the angle of attack,passive wing rotation is employed.The numerical results and analysis show that the maximum stress of the oscillating wing is approximately 1/6 of that of the flapping wing when the lift of the oscillating wing is twice that of the flapping wing.A theoretical aerodynamic model of the kinematics of the vehicle's driving mechanism was developed to fulfill its design.Force measurements indicate that the vehicle generates a sufficiently high cycle-averaged vertical thrust(71 g)for liftoff at a maximum frequency of 5.56 Hz,thereby validating the proposed aerodynamic model.Moreover,liftoff performance is presented to visually demonstrate the vertical take-off capabilities and hovering potential of the aeromechanical solution.

柔性扑翼微型飞行器升力和推力机理的风洞试验和飞行试验

为探讨柔性扑翼微型飞行器产生升力和推力的机理,在研究考虑柔性大变形扑翼气动力计算方法基础上,利用南京航空航天大学低速风洞进行了不同扑动频率、迎角、速度下微型扑翼升力、推力的变化和动态流场显示等风洞实验,并与计算结果进行了比较分析,为微型扑翼机的设计提供了的参考依据.自行研制的微型柔性结构扑翼机成功地进行了飞行试验.

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。