Experimental Investigation of Aerodynamics of Flapping-Wing Micro-Air-Vehicle by Force and Flow-Field Measurements

Date

2016-02-01

Author

Deng, Shuanghou
Perçin, Mustafa
van Oudheusden, Bas

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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This study explores the aerodynamic characteristics of a flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle (MAV) in hovering configuration by means of force and flowfield measurements. The effects of flapping frequency and wing geometry on force generation were examined using a miniature six-component force sensor. Additional high-speed imaging allowed identification of the notable different deformation characteristics of the flexible wings under vacuum condition in comparison to their behavior in air, illustrating the relevance of aeroelastic effects. Flow visualization around the flapping wing by means of planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements revealed the formation, development, and shedding of the vortical structures by the wings during flapping motion, with particular emphasis on the clap-and-fling phase. Further stereoscopic PIV measurements performed in the wake showed a momentum surplus wake induced by the clap-and-fling, indicative of thrust generation. The vortical structures in the wake formed during instroke and outstroke were characterized using a three-dimensional wake reconstruction from the planar measurements.

Subject Keywords

Hovering insect flight, Reynolds-number, Lift

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/41459

Collections

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Article