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Experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing vehicle in forward flight

Mazaheri, K ; Sharif University of Technology | 2011

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2011.04.001
  3. Publisher: 2011
  4. Abstract:
  5. The aerodynamic performance of a flexible membrane flapping wing has been investigated here. For this purpose, a flapping-wing system and an experimental set-up were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces of the flapping wing motion. A one-component force balance was set up to record the temporal variations of aerodynamic forces. The flapping wing was studied in a large low-speed wind tunnel. The lift and thrust of this mechanism were measured for different flapping frequencies, angles of attack and for various wind tunnel velocities. Results indicate that the thrust increases with the flapping frequency. An increase in the wind tunnel speed and flow angle of attack leads to reduction in the thrust value and increases the lift component. The aerodynamic and performance parameters were nondimensionalized. Appropriate models were introduced which show its aerodynamic performance and may be used in the design process and also optimization of the flapping wing
  6. Keywords:
  7. Flexible wing ; Aerodynamic forces ; Aerodynamic performance ; Angles of attack ; Appropriate models ; Design process ; Experimental investigations ; Experimental setup ; Flapping frequency ; Flapping wing ; Flapping wing motion ; Flexible membranes ; Force balances ; Forward flight ; Low-speed wind tunnel ; Performance parameters ; Temporal variation ; Tunnel velocity ; Unsteady aerodynamic force ; Angle of attack ; Lift ; Wind tunnels ; Flexible wings
  8. Source: Journal of Fluids and Structures ; Volume 27, Issue 4 , 2011 , Pages 586-595 ; 08899746 (ISSN)
  9. URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889974611000636