Aerodynamic performance of hovering micro revolving wings in ground and ceiling effects at low Reynolds number

Numerous investigations have been conducted to understand the wall effects on rotors. The purpose of this study is to further investigate the aerodynamic performance of revolving wings, especially when it is very close to the ground and ceiling (i.e., less than half the wingspan) at low Reynolds numbers. Hence, the ground and ceiling effect for hovering micro revolving wings at low Reynolds numbers are investigated by improving the theoretical models. The theoretical model for the ground effect is established based on the wall-jet assumption, and that for the ceiling effect is improved by considering the uneven spanwise distribution of induced velocity. These two models are validated by comparing the results of experiments and CFD simulations with the Lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM). Both ground and ceiling effects are found helpful to enhance the thrust, especially with small wing-wall distances, by making a difference to the induced velocity and the pressure distribution. By comparing the thrust generation and aerodynamic efficiency between the ground and ceiling effects, the former is found more helpful to the thrust augmentation, and the latter is more beneficial for the aerodynamic efficiency promotion.