Biologically inspired and biomemetic micro aerial vehicle structures

该计划的重点是用于微型飞行器(MAV)和昆虫飞行研究的柔性人工生物启发和仿生机翼的设计、优化、制造和测试。微型飞行器正被考虑在民防、关键基础设施监测、救灾和环境研究中的许多应用。然而，高效和功能性MAV的发展在一定程度上受到了缺乏低成本制造技术的阻碍，这些制造技术是飞行表面所需的薄而灵活的多功能结构的缺乏。一种可能的方法是向大自然寻求生物启发和/或仿生解决方案。以昆虫翅膀为导向，将开发出新型复合材料和加工技术，以生产出轻质、多功能、低成本、高保真和可重复的翅膀。这些翅膀将被卡尔顿大学的合作者用于昆虫飞行研究。人造翅膀还将在灵活性、升力系数和重量方面与真实昆虫翅膀进行比较。三名学生将有机会参与这个项目，以开发这些新结构所需的流程和设计解决方案。这些学生将作为国家研究委员会航空航天研究所和卡尔顿大学生物系的合作者团队的一部分进行研究。

The proposed program focuses on the design, optimization, fabrication and testing of flexible artificial biologically-inspired and biomimetic wings for application to micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) and insect flight studies. Micro aerial vehicles are being considered for numerous applications in civil defence, critical infrastructure monitoring, disaster relief and environmental studies. However, the development of efficient and functional MAVs is being held back in part by a lack of low cost fabrication techniques for the thin flexible multifunctional structures required for the flight surfaces. One possible approach is to turn to nature for biologically-inspired and/or biomimetic solutions. Using insect wings as a guide, novel composite materials and processing techniques will be developed to produce lightweight, multifunctional and low cost wings with high fidelity and repeatability. These wings will be used in insect flight studies by the collaborators at Carleton University. The artificial wings will also be compared to actual insect wings for their relative performance in terms of flexibility, lift coefficient and weight. Three students will have the opportunity to work on this program to develop the processes and design solutions required for these novel structures. The students will carry out their research as part of a team of collaborators at the National Research Council Institute for Aerospace Research and Carleton University's Department of Biology.