Aerodynamic Characteristics,Power Requirements and Camber Effects of the Pitching-Down Flapping Hovering

The pitching-down flapping is a new type of bionic flapping,which was invented by the author based on previous studies on the aerodynamic mechanisms of fruit fly(pitching-up)flapping.The motivation of this invention is to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of flapping Micro Air Vehicles(MAVs).In this paper the pitching-down flapping is briefly introduced.The major works include:(1)Computing the power requirements of pitching-down flapping in three modes(advanced,symmetrical, delayed),which were compared with those of pitching-up flapping;(2)Investigating the effects of translational acceleration time,Δτ_t,and rotational time,Δτ_r,at the end of a stroke,and the angle of attack,α,in the middle of a stroke on the aerodynamic characteristics in symmetrical mode;(3)Investigating the effect of camber on pitching-down flapping.From the above works, conclusions can be drawn that:(1)Compared with the pitching-up flapping,the pitching-down flapping can greatly reduce the time-averaged power requirements;(2)The increase in Δτt and the decrease in Δτ_r can increase both the lift and drag coefficients, but the time-averaged ratio of lift to drag changes a little.And α has significant effect on the aerodynamic characteristics of the pitching-down flapping;(3)The positive camber can effectively increase the lift coefficient and the ratio of lift to drag.

Enhancing the Stability of SEIG Connected Distribution System Using Reactive Power Control Capabilities of DFIG under Varying Wind Speeds

The increased level of penetration of wind generators into modern power system has significant effect on network operation. The time varying nature of wind speed has significant effect on performance of wind generator, therefore efficient mechanism for stabilizing the output of the wind generator is very much needed. Self-excited induction generators （SEIG） already existing in the network are sensitive to wind speeds. In this paper, a new method for voltage control of SEIG utilizing reactive power enhancing capabilities of doubly-fed induction generator （DFIG） is simulated and its effect on the network is analyzed for varying wind speeds. The choice of placing DFIG adjacent to SEIG or at another bus is also addressed in this paper with simulation results. The results show that this method of utilizing the reactive power capabilities of DFIG enhances voltage stability of SEIG as well as system stability.

Dynamic Analysis of Landing Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

In autonomous underwater vehicles(AUVs) the onboard power used to complete missions is limited.To solve this problem,a landing AUV has been designed,which conserves energy by sitting on the seafloor while monitoring the ocean.In order to study the dynamic behaviors for better control of the AUV,the dynamic analysis of the landing AUV is presented in this paper.Based on the momentum theorem and the angular momentum theorem,the dynamic model of the landing AUV is derived.The simulations of rectilinear motion,rotary motion and helix motion indicate the dynamic behaviors of the AUV.The ocean experiments validate the dynamic model presented in this paper.The experiments also verify that the landing AUV can work for a longer time than common AUVs.

Analysis of the dynamic performance of an electro-hydrostatic actuator and improvement methods

As a kind of actuation mechanism for power-by-wire(PBW) actuation systems of more/all electrical aircraft, an electro-hydrostatic actuator(EHA) is a highly integrated local hydraulic actuation system. It is a volume control system consisting of a motor, a pump, an actuator, etc.,which has features of high efficiency and reliability. However, the poor dynamic characteristic is one of the main factors restricting its wide application in aircraft. In this paper, the reason for the poor dynamic characteristic of an EHA is revealed from the perspectives of the natural frequency characteristic and the power requirement, respectively. In other words, the insufficiency of the motor output power at a high frequency is the main factor causing the poor dynamic characteristic of the system, and methods which include increasing the maximum output torque of the motor, reducing the rotational inertia of the motor-pump group, and adopting a double-motorpump group configuration are proposed in this paper, by which the dynamic characteristic of the system can be improved. The feasibility of those methods are verified by simulations. Finally, the dynamic characteristic is tested on an EHA prototype, and results show that saturation of the output torque of the motor is the main factor restricting the dynamic characteristic of the EHA system.

Aerodynamics of Ascending Flight in Fruit Flies

As a very basic flight mode, ascending flight is obviously of great importance to all kinds of manmade and natural fliers. Yet, for the most commonly seen fliers - insects, researches on this flight mode are rare. In this paper, we combined both experimental measurements and numerical simulations to investigate the kinematical characteristics, aerodynamic performance and power requirement of ascending flight in fruit flies （Drosophila virilis）. The flies ascend at an advance ratio of about 0.12. The most significant characteristic of ascending flight is larger stroke amplitude compared to hovering, while the other kinematics is very similar. From an aerodynamics point of view, this increased stroke amplitude is needed to overcome the negative effects of＂downwash flow＂, caused by the upward motion of the fly. Same as hovering, the ascending fruit flies utilize delayed stall and fast pitching-up mechanisms to generate the majority of the lift required for balancing the weight and body drag. By using a larger stroke-amplitude to overcome the negative effects of＂downwash flow＂, larger energy cost （about 20%） than that of equivalent hovering is required.

Optimal deployment schedule of an active twist rotor for performance enhancement and vibration reduction in high-speed flights

The best active twist schedules exploiting various waveform types are sought taking advantage of the global search algorithm for the reduction of hub vibration and/or power required of a rotor in high-speed conditions. The active twist schedules include two non-harmonic inputs formed based on segmented step functions as well as the simple harmonic waveform input. An advanced Particle Swarm assisted Genetic Algorithm（PSGA） is employed for the optimizer. A rotorcraft Computational Structural Dynamics（CSD） code CAMRAD II is used to perform the rotor aeromechanics analysis. A Computation Fluid Dynamics（CFD） code is coupled with CSD for verification and some physical insights. The PSGA optimization results are verified against the parameter sweep study performed using the harmonic actuation. The optimum twist schedules according to the performance and/or vibration reduction strategy are obtained and their optimization gains are compared between the actuation cases. A two-phase non-harmonic actuation schedule demonstrates the best outcome in decreasing the power required while a four-phase non-harmonic schedule results in the best vibration reduction as well as the simultaneous reductions in the power required and vibration. The mechanism of reduction to the performance gains is identified illustrating the section airloads, angle-of-attack distribution, and elastic twist deformation predicted by the present approaches.