Wing Force & Moment Characterization of Flapping Wings for Micro Air Vehicle Application

Abstract

This paper presents a general method for investigating the unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wings for micro air vehicle application. For this purpose, a dynamically scaled robotic flapper was designed and fabricated which can flap the wings in a desired kinematic pattern. A quasisteady aerodynamic model and wing testing methodology was developed based on unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms. This model additionally accounts for the wing twisting. The experimental results show a good agreement with published data. 24 kinematic patterns were tested and the quasi-steady aerodynamic model compares well with the experimental results. The focus of the present work is on hovering flight, however, the methodology is general and can be extended to slow forward flight in future.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 21, 2005
Accession Number
ADA433708

Entities

People

  • Sunil K. Agrawal
  • Zaeem A. Khan

Organizations

  • University of Delaware

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aerodynamic Forces
  • Aircraft Wings
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Birds
  • Control Systems
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Drosophila
  • Experimental Data
  • Flow
  • Fluid Flow
  • Geometry
  • Leading Edges
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Steady State

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics.
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Bayesian Inference
  • Autonomy