Experimental Methods to Characterize Nonlinear Vibration of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles

Abstract

For urban combat reconnaissance, the flapping wing micro air vehicle concept is ideal because of its low speed and miniature size, which are both conducive to indoor operations. The focus of this research is the development of experimental methods best suited for the vibration testing of the wing structure of a flapping wing micro air vehicle. This study utilizes the similarity of a beam resonating at its first bending mode to actual wing flapping motion. While computational finite element analysis based on linear vibration theory is employed for preliminary beam sizing, an emphasis is placed on experimental measurement of the nonlinear vibration characteristics introduced as a result of large movement. Beam specimens fabricated from 2024-T3 aluminum alloy and IM7/5250-4 carbon-epoxy were examined using a high speed optical system and a scanning laser vibrometer configured in both three and one dimensions, respectively.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA468317

Entities

People

  • Adam P. Tobias

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Aluminum Alloys
  • Birds
  • Cameras
  • Composite Materials
  • Computational Science
  • Detectors
  • Doppler Effect
  • Elastic Properties
  • Measurement
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Three Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy