Reynolds Number Effects on Thrust Coefficients and PIV for Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles

Abstract

For the last several years the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) has conducted research in aerodynamics for flapping wing micro air vehicles (MAVs). The focus of this research was to augment this effort by measuring thrust, velocity, and torque in tanks of water and glycerin using a scale and a reaction torque cell. The results for different flapping mechanisms are compared to a rotating propeller with the goal of elucidating the design trade space between rotorcraft and flapping wings at Reynolds numbers less than 100,000. In addition, flow visualization and quantitative velocity data were captured in the wake of the flapping wing. One flapping-wing mechanism was designed to incorporate a coupled 4-bar planar and 4-bar spatial linkage system to prescribe motion which included both flapping and rotation. Thrust and velocity data were found to follow the general trends for a flapping wing with passive rotation. The passive rotation angle setting was found to alter thrust and velocity patterns.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 09, 2012
Accession Number
ADA559900

Entities

People

  • John P. Tekell

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Birds
  • Dc Motors
  • Engineering
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Flow
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Geometry
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Measurement
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Reynolds Number
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers