Aerodynamics of a bio-inspired flexible flapping-wing micro air vehicle
Aerodynamics of a bio-inspired flexible flapping-wing micro air vehicle
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DOI：
10.1088/1748-3182/6/4/045002
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发表时间：
2011-12-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Sato, A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Nakata, T.;Liu, H.;Sato, A.
MAVs（微型飞行器）最大尺寸为15厘米，标称飞行速度约为10米/秒（-1），在10(5)或更低的雷诺数范围内运行，其中包括昆虫，蝙蝠和鸟类在内的大多数天然飞行者。此外，由于其重量轻，飞行速度低，mav的飞行特性很大程度上受到环境因素的影响，如阵风。像天然的飞行者一样，MAVs的机翼结构往往是灵活的，在飞行过程中往往会变形。因此，这些飞行器的气动/流体动力学和结构动力学彼此密切相关，使整个飞行器难以分析。我们最近开发了一种受蜂鸟启发的柔性扑翼MAV，重量为2.4-3.0克，翼展为10-12厘米。在本研究中，我们通过室内计算流体动力学（CFD）方法和风洞实验相结合，对该扑动飞行器的柔性翼空气动力学进行了综合研究。建立了一个具有真实翼面并能模拟真实柔性翼运动的CFD模型，从旋涡和尾迹结构及其与气动力产生的关系等方面定量预测了四翼微型飞行器的非定常气动特性。风洞实验进一步证实了该仿生微型飞行器中拍飞机构的有效性，以及机翼柔性在小型扑翼微型飞行器设计中的重要性。
MAVs (micro air vehicles) with a maximal dimension of 15 cm and nominal flight speeds of around 10 m s(-1), operate in a Reynolds number regime of 10(5) or lower, in which most natural flyers including insects, bats and birds fly. Furthermore, due to their light weight and low flight speed, the MAVs' flight characteristics are substantially affected by environmental factors such as wind gust. Like natural flyers, the wing structures of MAVs are often flexible and tend to deform during flight. Consequently, the aero/fluid and structural dynamics of these flyers are closely linked to each other, making the entire flight vehicle difficult to analyze. We have recently developed a hummingbird-inspired, flapping flexible wing MAV with a weight of 2.4-3.0 g and a wingspan of 10-12 cm. In this study, we carry out an integrated study of the flexible wing aerodynamics of this flapping MAV by combining an in-house computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method and wind tunnel experiments. A CFD model that has a realistic wing planform and can mimic realistic flexible wing kinematics is established, which provides a quantitative prediction of unsteady aerodynamics of the four-winged MAV in terms of vortex and wake structures and their relationship with aerodynamic force generation. Wind tunnel experiments further confirm the effectiveness of the clap and fling mechanism employed in this bio-inspired MAV as well as the importance of the wing flexibility in designing small flapping-wing MAVs.