Unsteady aerodynamics and flow control for flapping wing flyers

The creation of micro air vehicles (MAVs) of the same general sizes and weight as natural fliers has spawned renewed interest in flapping wing flight. With a wingspan of approximately 15 cm and a flight speed of a few meters per second, MAVs experience the same low Reynolds number (10⁴–10⁵) flight conditions as their biological counterparts. In this flow regime, rigid fixed wings drop dramatically in aerodynamic performance while flexible flapping wings gain efficacy and are the preferred propulsion method for small natural fliers. Researchers have long realized that steady-state aerodynamics does not properly capture the physical phenomena or forces present in flapping flight at this scale. Hence, unsteady flow mechanisms must dominate this regime. Furthermore, due to the low flight speeds, any disturbance such as gusts or wind will dramatically change the aerodynamic conditions around the MAV. In response, a suitable feedback control system and actuation technology must be developed so that the wing can maintain its aerodynamic efficiency in this extremely dynamic situation; one where the unsteady separated flow field and wing structure are tightly coupled and interact nonlinearly. For instance, birds and bats control their flexible wings with muscle tissue to successfully deal with rapid changes in the flow environment. Drawing from their example, perhaps MAVs can use lightweight actuators in conjunction with adaptive feedback control to shape the wing and achieve active flow control. This article first reviews the scaling laws and unsteady flow regime constraining both biological and man-made fliers. Then a summary of vortex dominated unsteady aerodynamics follows. Next, aeroelastic coupling and its effect on lift and thrust are discussed. Afterwards, flow control strategies found in nature and devised by man to deal with separated flows are examined. Recent work is also presented in using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuators and angular speed variation to achieve active flow control for MAVs. Finally, an explanation for aerodynamic gains seen in flexible versus rigid membrane wings, derived from an unsteady three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model with an integrated distributed control algorithm, is presented.     

Recent progress in flapping wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity

Micro air vehicles (MAVs) have the potential to revolutionize our sensing and information gathering capabilities in areas such as environmental monitoring and homeland security. Flapping wings with suitable wing kinematics, wing shapes, and flexible structures can enhance lift as well as thrust by exploiting large-scale vortical flow structures under various conditions. However, the scaling invariance of both fluid dynamics and structural dynamics as the size changes is fundamentally difficult. The focus of this review is to assess the recent progress in flapping wing aerodynamics and aeroelasticity. It is realized that a variation of the Reynolds number (wing sizing, flapping frequency, etc.) leads to a change in the leading edge vortex (LEV) and spanwise flow structures, which impacts the aerodynamic force generation. While in classical stationary wing theory, the tip vortices (TiVs) are seen as wasted energy, in flapping flight, they can interact with the LEV to enhance lift without increasing the power requirements. Surrogate modeling techniques can assess the aerodynamic outcomes between two- and three-dimensional wing. The combined effect of the TiVs, the LEV, and jet can improve the aerodynamics of a flapping wing. Regarding aeroelasticity, chordwise flexibility in the forward flight can substantially adjust the projected area normal to the flight trajectory via shape deformation, hence redistributing thrust and lift. Spanwise flexibility in the forward flight creates shape deformation from the wing root to the wing tip resulting in varied phase shift and effective angle of attack distribution along the wing span. Numerous open issues in flapping wing aerodynamics are highlighted.     

多段柔性变体扑翼飞行器设计

多段柔性变体扑翼模仿海鸥翅膀的复杂运动.观察海鸥翅膀的运动周期,设计了包含慢频率扑动、展向折弯、弦向扭转和结构柔性变形的扑翼模型,并应用准定常方法计算气动力,为该扑翼飞行器设计提供依据.在CATIA和3DMAX中设计多段柔性变体扑翼机的三维模型和运动模拟,制作样机进行飞行试验,研究其平飞、爬升、偏航等飞行姿态,结果表明升力和推力与数值计算结果吻合.相较于原有扑翼飞行器,多段柔性变体扑翼飞行器可以慢频率扑动飞行,调整扑翼形状.      

小型和微型无人机的气动特点和设计

讨论了当前包括固定翼、扑翼和微型旋翼的小型无人驾驶飞行器(SUAV)和微型无人驾驶飞行器(MAV)的进展和未来发展可能涉及的技术问题。讨论了低雷诺数空气动力特性,包括分离气泡和展弦比的影响。介绍了用于拍动翼的非定常空气动力特性和高升力机理。讨论了目前存在的2种设计方法——多学科/多目标优化设计和探索式/进化式的设计方法,以及在设计中柔性翼和主动智能控制的重要性。     

微型飞行器低雷诺数矩形扑翼非定常气动特性的数值模拟

采用双时间步方法求解三维可压缩非定常N-S方程,数值模拟了微型飞行器低雷诺数矩形扑翼的非定常绕流,首先将得到的结果与文献进行了对比,数据间具有较好的一致性.然后针对不同的展弦比、减缩频率及初始攻角,计算了矩形扑翼的非定常气动特性及表面流态和动态压力分布,并分析了翼尖涡对扑翼非定常气动特性的影响.     

Nonlinear dynamics of a flapping rotary wing: Modeling and optimal wing kinematic analysis

The analysis of the passive rotation feature of a micro Flapping Rotary Wing(FRW)applicable for Micro Air Vehicle(MAV) design is presented in this paper. The dynamics of the wing and its influence on aerodynamic performance of FRW is studied at low Reynolds number(~10~3).The FRW is modeled as a simplified system of three rigid bodies: a rotary base with two flapping wings. The multibody dynamic theory is employed to derive the motion equations for FRW. A quasi-steady aerodynamic model is utilized for the calculation of the aerodynamic forces and moments. The dynamic motion process and the effects of the kinematics of wings on the dynamic rotational equilibrium of FWR and the aerodynamic performances are studied. The results show that the passive rotation motion of the wings is a continuous dynamic process which converges into an equilibrium rotary velocity due to the interaction between aerodynamic thrust, drag force and wing inertia. This causes a unique dynamic time-lag phenomena of lift generation for FRW, unlike the normal flapping wing flight vehicle driven by its own motor to actively rotate its wings. The analysis also shows that in order to acquire a high positive lift generation with high power efficiency and small dynamic time-lag, a relative high mid-up stroke angle within 7–15° and low mid-down stroke angle within -40° to -35° are necessary. The results provide a quantified guidance for design option of FRW together with the optimal kinematics of motion according to flight performance requirement.     

微型扑翼飞行器的气动建模分析与试验

用计算流体力学的数值模拟方法研究了微扑翼飞行器的扑翼飞行的非定常空气动力学问题。在对昆虫扑翼飞行运动的仿生模拟基础上 ,对实际可飞的微扑翼飞行器的扑翼运动建立了三维翼型的运动学与空气动力学模型。利用任意拉格朗日欧拉 ( ALE)有限元方法求解出 N-S方程的数值解 ,证明简单扑翼布局所提供的升力足以克服微扑翼飞行器本身的重力使其飞行。在此基础上 ,分别计算并分析了拍动幅值、俯仰幅度以及扑翼频率等各种扑翼参数对升力的影响。最后 ,探索性的扑翼风洞试验与飞行试验结果在一定程度上验证了文中计算方法的可行性      

Lift performance enhancement for flapping airfoils by considering surging motion

The flapping motion has a great impact on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings. In this paper, a surging motion is added to an airfoil performing pitching-plunging combined motion to figure out how it influences the lift performance and flow pattern of flapping airfoils. Firstly, the numerical methods are validated by a NACA0012 airfoil pitching case and a NACA0012 airfoil plunging case. Then, the E377m airfoil which has typical geometric characteristics of the bird-like airfoil is selected as the calculation model to study how phase differences φ₁ between surging motion and plunging motion affect the aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoils. The results show that the airfoil with surging motion has comprehensively better lift performance and thrust performance than the airfoil without surging motion when 15°< φ₁ < 90°. It is demonstrated that surging motion has a powerful ability to improve the aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoil by adjusting φ₁. Finally, to further explore how flapping airfoil improves lift performance by considering surging motion, the flapping motions of E377m airfoil with the highest lift coefficient and lift efficiency are obtained through trajectory optimization. The surging motion is removed in the highest lift case and highest lift efficiency case respectively, and the mechanism that surging motion adjusts the aerodynamic force is analyzed in detail by comparing the vortex structure and kinematic parameters. The results of this paper help reveal the aerodynamic mechanism of bird flight and guide the design of Flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles (FMAV).     

Fixed membrane wings for micro air vehicles: Experimental characterization,numerical modeling,and tailoring

Fixed wing micro air vehicles (wingspan between 10 and 15 cm) are aerodynamically challenging due to the low Reynolds number regime (10⁴–10⁵) they operate in. The low aspect ratio wings (typically used to maximize area under a size constraint) promote strong tip vortices, and are susceptible to rolling instabilities. Wind gusts can be of the same order of magnitude as the flight speed (10–15 m/s). Standard control surfaces on an empennage must be eliminated for size considerations and drag reduction, and the range of stable center of gravity locations is only a few millimeters long. Membrane aeroelasticity has been identified as a tenable method to alleviate these issues: flexible wing structures with geometric twist (adaptive washout for gust rejection, delayed stall) and aerodynamic twist (adaptive inflation for high lift, larger stability margins) are both considered here. Recent investigations in static aeroelastic characterization, including flight loads, wing deformation, flow structures, aeroelastic-tailoring studies through laminate orientation, as well as unconventional techniques based on membrane pre-tension, are reviewed. Multi-objective optimization aimed at improving lift, drag, and pitching moment considerations is also discussed.     

Effect of flexibility on unsteady aerodynamics forces of a purely plunging airfoil

Introducing flexibility into the design of a vertically flapping wing is an effective way to enhance its aerodynamic performance. As less previous studies on the aerodynamics of vertically flapping flexible wings focused on the lift generated in a wide range of angle of attack·a 2D numerical simulation of a purely plunging flexible airfoil is employed using a loose fluid–structure interaction method. The aerodynamics of a fully flexible airfoil are firstly studied with the flexibility and angle of attack. To verify whether an airfoil could get aerodynamic benefit from the change in structure, partially flexible airfoil with rigid leading edge and flexible trailing edge were further considered. Results show that flexibility could always reduce airfoil drag while lift and lift efficiency both peak at moderate flexibility. When freestream velocity is constant, lift is maximized at a high angle of attack about 40° while this optimal angle of attack reduces to 15° in drag-balanced status. The airfoil drag reduction, lift augmentation as well as efficiency enhancement mainly attribute to the passive pitching other than the camber deformation. Partially deformed airfoil with the longest length of moderate flexible trailing edge can achieve the highest lift. This study may provide some guidance in the wing design of Micro Air Vehicle (MAV).     

低雷诺数仿生分离流翼型气动特性初探

为了探索适合低雷诺数微型飞行器的翼型形式,基于对自然界鸟类和昆虫滑翔飞行时翅膀形状的观察,设计出一种由前缘削尖平板和后缘圆弧翼型组合而成的仿生分离流翼型。数值研究结果表明,气流在削尖平板的前缘点强制分离,形成大范围低压分离流动,随后在后部圆弧翼上表面再附形成稳定低压涡流区,从而实现较高的气动效率和较强的抵抗大气湍流的能力。上削尖平板可以使流动分离点固定在削尖点。相对于单独平板,仿生分离流翼型的升力系数有大幅提高,迎角为4°时提高了112%。此外,仿生分离流翼型可以在较宽的迎角范围内（4°~20°）保持高升力,但是迎角增加,阻力也快速增大,因此小迎角情况下（小于4°）气动效率更优。      

Experimental investigations of a full model with adaptive elasto-flexible membrane wings

The morphing wing concept aims to constantly adapt the aerodynamics to different flight stages. The wing is able to adapt to different flight conditions by an adjustable Aspect Ratio (AR) and sweep. A high AR configuration provides high aerodynamic efficiency, while a low AR configuration, with highly swept wings offers a good maneuverability. Additionally, the flexible membrane allows the wing surface to stretch and contract in-plane as well as the airfoil to adapt to different aerodynamic loads. In the context of this work, the aerodynamic characteristics of a full model with form-adaptive elasto-flexible membrane wings are investigated experimentally. The focus is on the high-lift regime and on the analysis of the aerodynamic coefficients as well as their sensitivities. Especially, the lateral aerodynamic derivatives at asymmetric wing positions are of interest.     

Aerodynamic performance enhancement for flapping airfoils by co-flow jet

Introducing active flow control into the design of flapping wing is an effective way to enhance its aerodynamic performance. In this paper, a novel active flow control technology called Co-Flow Jet (CFJ) is applied to flapping airfoils. The effect of CFJ on aerodynamic performance of flapping airfoils at low Reynolds number is numerically investigated using Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulation with Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model. Numerical methods are validated by a NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil case and a S809 pitching airfoil case. Then NACA6415 baseline airfoil and NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil with jet-off and jet-on are simulated in flapping motion, with Reynolds number 70,000 and reduced frequency 0.2. As a result, CFJ airfoils with jet-on generally have better lift and thrust characteristics than baseline airfoils and jet-off airfoil when C_μ is greater than 0.04, which results from the CFJ effect of reducing flow separation by injecting high-energy fluid into boundary layer. Besides, typical kinematic and geometric parameters, including the reduced frequency and the positions of the suction and injection slot, are systematically studied to figure out their influence on aerodynamic performance of the CFJ airfoil. And a variable C_μ jet control strategy is proposed to further improve effective propulsive efficiency. Compared with using constant C_μ, an increase of effective propulsive efficiency by 22.6% has been achieved by using prescribed variable C_μ for NACA6415-based CFJ airfoil at frequency 0.2. This study may provide some guidance to performance enhancement for Flapping wing Micro Air Vehicles (FMAV).     

Flapping wing micro-aerial-vehicle:Kinematics,membranes, and flapping mechanisms of ornithopter and insect flight

The application of biomimetics in the development of unmanned-aerial-vehicles (UAV) has advanced to an exceptionally small scale of nano-aerial-vehicles (NAV), which has surpassed its immediate predecessor of micro-aerial-vehicles (MAV), leaving a vast range of development possi-bilities that MAVs have to offer. Because of the prompt advancement into the NAV research devel-opment, the true potential and challenges presented by MAV development were never solved, understood, and truly uncovered, especially under the influence of transition and low Reynolds number flow characteristics. This paper reviews a part of previous MAV research developments which are deemed important of notification; kinematics, membranes, and flapping mechanisms ranges from small birds to big insects, which resides within the transition and low Reynolds number regimes. This paper also reviews the possibility of applying a piezoelectric transmission used to pro-duce NAV flapping wing motion and mounted on a MAV, replacing the conventional motorized flapping wing transmission. Findings suggest that limited work has been done for MAVs matching these criteria. The preferred research approach has seen bias towards numerical analysis as com-pared to experimental analysis.     

扑翼飞行器动力系统建模方法

为快速评估扑翼飞行器的航时,便于针对不同扑动翼进行动力系统设计与优化,逐步减少实物验证与试飞,加快扑翼飞行器的研制,基于实验数据参数辨识的方法建立了包含直流无刷电机、电调（ESC）、锂电池和扑动机构等扑翼飞行器动力系统组件的动态模型,其中电机模型相对误差小于10%,锂电池动态模型相对误差小于6%;提出了一种基于风洞试验气动数据和功率数据的扑动轴瞬时气动载荷半经验高精度建模方法,解决了气动载荷测量较为困难的问题,模型确定系数大于0.89;集成以上模型后的扑翼飞行器仿真系统还包含扑动翼周期平均气动模型、平尾气动模型和纵向控制模型,确保仿真在动态配平状态下进行,可进行全任务剖面航时仿真,航时仿真与实际试飞结果相比误差小于3%。集成的扑翼飞行器仿真系统采用模块化建模思想,各模型参数独立可调,能进一步应用于扑翼飞行器多学科优化等研究。     

An experimental study of elastic properties of dragonfly-like flapping wings for use in biomimetic micro air vehicles (BMAVs)

This article studies the elastic properties of several biomimetic micro air vehicle (BMAV) wings that are based on a dragonfly wing. BMAVs are a new class of unmanned micro-sized air vehicles that mimic the flapping wing motion of flying biological organisms (e.g., insects, birds, and bats). Three structurally identical wings were fabricated using different materials: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), and acrylic. Simplified wing frame structures were fabricated from these materials and then a nanocomposite film was adhered to them which mimics the membrane of an actual dragonfly. These wings were then attached to an electromagnetic actu-ator and passively flapped at frequencies of 10–250 Hz. A three-dimensional high frame rate imag-ing system was used to capture the flapping motions of these wings at a resolution of 320 pixels × 240 pixels and 35000 frames per second. The maximum bending angle, maximum wing tip deflection, maximum wing tip twist angle, and wing tip twist speed of each wing were measured and compared to each other and the actual dragonfly wing. The results show that the ABS wing has considerable flexibility in the chordwise direction, whereas the PLA and acrylic wings show better conformity to an actual dragonfly wing in the spanwise direction. Past studies have shown that the aerodynamic performance of a BMAV flapping wing is enhanced if its chordwise flexibility is increased and its spanwise flexibility is reduced. Therefore, the ABS wing (fabricated using a 3D printer) shows the most promising results for future applications.     

A review of bird-like flapping wing with high aspect ratio

Bird-like flapping-wing vehicles with a high aspect ratio have the potential to fulfill missions given to micro air vehicles, such as high-altitude reconnaissance, surveillance, rescue, and bird group guidance, due to their good loading and long endurance capacities. Biologists and aeronautical researchers have explored the mystery of avian flight and made efforts to reproduce flapping flight in bioinspired aircraft for decades. However, the cognitive depth from theory to practice is still very limited. The mechanism of generating sufficient lift and thrust during avian flight is still not fully understood. Moving wings with unique biological structures such as feathers make modeling, simulation, experimentation, and analysis much more difficult. This paper reviews the research progress on bird-like flapping wings from flight mechanisms to modeling. Commonly used numerical computing methods are briefly compared. The aeroelastic problems are also highlighted. The results of the investigation show that a leading-edge vortex can be found during avian flight. Its induction and maintenance may have a close relationship with wing configuration, kinematics and deformation. The present models of flapping wings are mainly two-dimensional airfoils or three-dimensional single root-jointed geometric plates, which still exhibit large differences from real bird wings. Aeroelasticity is encouraged to consider the nonignorable effect on aerodynamic performance due to large-scale nonlinear deformation. Introducing appropriate flexibility can improve the peak values and efficiencies of lift and thrust, but the detailed conclusions always have strong background dependence.     

Optimal thickness distributions of aeroelastic flapping shells

The severe weight limitations of flapping wing micro air vehicles necessitates the use of thin flexible wings, which in turn requires an aeroelastic modeling tool for proper numerical characterization. Furthermore, due to the unconventional nature of these vehicles, wing design guidelines for thrust and/or power considerations are not generally available; numerical design optimization then becomes a valuable tool. This work couples a nonlinear shell model to an unsteady vortex lattice solver, and then computes analytical design gradients: the derivative of aerodynamic force/power quantities with respect to a large vector of thickness variables. Gradient-based optimization is then used to locate the wing structure that maximizes the thrust, or minimizes the power under a thrust constraint, for a variety of shell boundary conditions. Changes in the topological features of the optimal wing thicknesses highlight important aeroelastic interactions that can be exploited for efficient flapping wings.     

考虑弹性转轴的扑翼三维气动数值计算

通过求解雷诺平均Navier-Stokes方程,研究了同时具有扑动和俯仰运动的三维扑翼气动特性.为了模拟扑翼的弹性特性,在扑翼俯仰轴处设计了扭簧.研究了扑翼平面形状、俯仰弹性轴与质心的相对位置、俯仰刚度变化等参数的影响.结果表明:俯仰角相对扑动角有一个大的相位超前量,且刚度系数越大该超前量越大;考虑了俯仰弹性特征后,计...     

仿鸟柔性扑翼气动特性与能耗的数值研究

建立了适当的三维仿鸟柔性扑翼模型,并以配平重力和平衡阻力为条件,数值计算了它的低雷诺数非定常流场.研究揭示了翼面初始扭转角度、动态俯仰幅度等重要设计参数与飞行性能的关系,表明扑翼平面的初始扭转程度、扑翼柔性材料的选择以及两者之间的合理搭配对扑翼机的成功飞行至关重要.研究分析了仿鸟扑翼的流场涡结构、升力推力产生原理,下扑过程附着上翼面的前缘涡是升力产生的重要机制.对扑翼气动功率的比较分析也发现,人造扑翼机需要的气动功率明显高出同等大小的鸟类,在效率方面尚不及扑翼飞行生物.