Space-Time Fluid-Structure Interaction Computation of Flapping-Wing Aerodynamics
Abstract
The focus of this thesis is computational fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis of flapping-wing aerodynamics of a micro aerial vehicle (MAV). The wing motion and deformation data, whether prescribed fully or partially, is from an actual locust, extracted from high-speed, multi-camera video recordings of the locust in a wind tunnel. The core computational FSI technology is based on the Deforming-Spatial- Domain/Stabilized Space-Time (DSD/SST) formulation. This is supplemented with using NURBS basis functions in temporal representation of the wing and mesh motion, and in remeshing. Here we use the version of the DSD/SST formulation derived in conjunction with the variational multiscale (VMS) method, and this version is called "DSD/SST-VMST." The structural mechanics computations are based on the Kirchhoff-Love shell model. We use a sequential coupling technique, which is applicable to some classes of FSI problem, especially those with temporally-periodic behavior. We show that sequential coupling performs well in FSI computation of the flapping-wing aerodynamics we consider here. We analyze cases where the MAV body has rolling, pitching, or rolling and pitching motion. We study how all these influence the lift and thrust generated by the MAV.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA621985
Entities
People
- Nikolay M. Kostov
Organizations
- Rice University