CAREER: Investigation of Dynamic Interactions Between Wing-Body and Aerodynamics in Bio-Inspired Flight

生物飞行者，如昆虫和鸟类，在它们的自然机动能力方面代表了一个工程奇迹。这些被展示的生物现象为问题提供了一个科学上丰富的金矿。这些飞行者所表现出的惊人的机动性能是复杂的动态相互作用的结果，这种相互作用发生在它们的拍打翅膀和由它们身体上的流体流动产生的空气动力学之间。一些昆虫已被观察到执行超过3000度/秒的转向机动，而延迟不到30毫秒。在正常的日常飞行中，一些鸟类在超机动任务中可能会经历高达14g的加速度，而最先进的战斗机的机动性不能超过8- 9g。该学院早期职业发展计划（Career）项目将重点了解飞行过程中翼身和流体动力学之间动态相互作用的基本方面和机制。这项研究的结果将使工程师们能够设计出不需要复杂的感官控制执行器处理系统的仿生微型飞行器，从而促进自我（自然）稳定。拟议的研究将提高微型飞行器和无人机的设计能力，它们在搜索和救援任务、侦察任务、拍摄、边境监控、应急响应等方面具有巨大的潜在用途。这是一个多学科的工作，桥梁之间的差距数学，物理，工程和生物力学。该项目还将为学生开发新的课程和有趣的项目，重点是提高少数民族学生在STEM学科中的参与度。本文的主要目的是研究扑翼飞行中翼身动力学和非定常流动动力学之间的相互作用，特别强调新发现的振动稳定现象的基础物理学。这将通过三管齐下的方法来实现：(i)理论：通过开发一个降阶飞行动力学模型，并使用几何控制理论和高阶平均分析空气动力学-身体-机翼-动力学相互作用；（ii）计算：通过求解拍打昆虫翅膀周围的Navier-Stokes方程，结合控制翅膀和身体运动的力学方程，研究前缘和后缘涡在振动稳定现象中的作用；（iii）实验：通过建立一个多自由度的试验台（带有运动捕捉和流动可视化）来验证理论和计算结果，并通过实验评估振动稳定在扑翼飞行中的有效性，并仔细检查其物理特性。最后，依靠所发现的振动稳定现象，开发出具有最小驱动的新一代扑翼微型飞行器。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Biological flyers such as insects and birds represent an engineering marvel in terms of their natural maneuvering capabilities. These exhibited biological phenomena offer a scientifically-rich gold mine for problems. The astounding maneuvering performance exhibited by these flyers is a result of complex dynamic interaction that takes place between their flapping wings and the aerodynamics resulting from fluid flow over their bodies. Some insects have been observed to perform turning maneuvers of greater than 3000 deg/s, with less than a 30 ms delay. In normal everyday flight, some birds may experience up to 14 g accelerations in super-maneuverable tasks, while the maneuverability of the most advanced fighter airplanes cannot exceed 8-9 g. This Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) project will focus on understanding the fundamental aspects and mechanisms of the dynamic interaction between the wing-body and fluid dynamics during flight. The results from the proposed research will enable engineers to design bio-inspired micro-air-vehicles without complicated sensory-control-actuator-processing systems by promoting self (natural) stabilization. The proposed research will boost the design capabilities of micro-air-vehicles and drones, which have great potential use in search and rescue missions, reconnaissance missions, filming, border monitoring, emergency response, etc. It is a multi-disciplinary work that bridges the gap between mathematics, physics, engineering, and biomechanics. The project will also lead to the development of new courses for students and interesting program that focuses on improving participation of minority students in STEM disciplines. The primary objective of this proposal is to investigate the interactions between the wing-body dynamics and unsteady flow dynamics in flapping flight with particular emphasis on the underpinning physics of the newly discovered vibrational stabilization phenomenon. This will be achieved by a three-prong approach: (i) Theoretical: by developing a reduced-order flight dynamic model and analyzing the aerodynamics-body-wing-dynamics interactions using geometric control theory and higher-order averaging; (ii) Computational: by solving Navier-Stokes equations around the wings of a flapping insect, coupled with the mechanical equations governing the wing and body motion to study the role of leading and trailing edge vortices in the vibrational stabilization phenomenon; and (iii) Experimental: by building a multi degree-of-freedom test bed (with motion capture and flow visualization) to validate the theoretical and computational findings and experimentally assess the effectiveness of vibrational stabilization in flapping flight and scrutinize its physics. Finally, a new generation of flapping micro-air-vehicles will be developed with minimal actuation, relying on the discovered vibrational stabilization phenomenon.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.