A Computational And Experimental Investigation Of Flapping-Wing Propulsion

Abstract

Flapping-wing propulsion is studied experimentally and numerically. The objective of the research is to provide further insight into the aerodynamics of flapping-wing air vehicles. Experimental work is conducted in the NPS 1.5 m x 1.5 m (5 ft x 5 ft) in-draft wind tunnel. A previously constructed long-span flapping-wing model suspended by cables is used to approximate the two-dimensional nature of the numerical simulation. For this experiment, the model is configured with two wings executing plunge-only motion. Thrust is indirectly determined by using a laser rangefinder to measure streamwise displacement of the model. Results are compared with previous experimental tests. A numerical analysis is conducted using USPOT, a locally developed unsteady panel code that models two independently moving airfoils with three degrees of freedom and non-linear deforming wakes. Thrust and efficiencies are computed for harmonically oscillating airfoils. Direct comparison is made between experimental and numerical thrust measurements.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA379263

Entities

People

  • Timothy C. Lund

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Data Displays
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Geometry
  • Laser Rangefinding
  • Lasers
  • Measurement
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Pressure Transducers
  • Simulations
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy