Experimental Investigation of Pitch Control Enhancement to the Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Abstract

The mechanical pitching characteristic of the NPS flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) developed by Professor Kevin D. Jones are studied experimentally through the use of constant temperature anemometry and force balance techniques. The MAV without the main fixed-wing is placed in a laminar flow field within a low speed wind tunnel with the wake after the flapping wings characterized with a constant temperature anemometer and thrust generation measured by a load cell at various neutral angles, flapping frequencies and free stream velocities. The experiments seek to determine the effects on the MAV propulsion when the neutral angle of attack of the flapping wings is varied. Flow visualization is also performed to better enhance understanding of the flow field across the pitched flapping wings.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA462357

Entities

People

  • Chin C. Kian

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Flow
  • Aircrafts
  • Boundary Layer
  • Data Acquisition
  • Dc Motors
  • Flow
  • Flow Fields
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Flow
  • Free Stream
  • Frequency
  • Load Cells
  • Measurement
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Test Facilities
  • Wind
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

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  • Aerodynamics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.