Biologically Inspired, Anisoptropic Flexible Wing for Optimal Flapping Flight

Abstract : A multidisciplinary program involving collaboration between eight researchers at three universities to address fundamental aspects of flapping wing micro aerial vehicles (MAV) is described. The overall goal of the program was to develop the fundamental scientific foundation necessary to enable the design of agile, autonomous flapping-wing MAVs for operation in an urban environment. Significant accomplishments include: a) Developed and validated high- and low-fidelity computational tools for analysis and design of flapping wing MAVs; b) Developed and used measurement techniques to determine the relation between wing kinematics, geometry, and anisotropic structural flexibility; c) Conducted coordinated experimental and computational modeling to determine the roles of aerodynamic loading, wing inertia, and structural flexibility and elasticity; and d) Developed surrogate tools for flapping wing MAV design and optimization. Detailed research accomplishments have been documented in 83 archival publications, 11 Ph.D. Dissertations and 5 Master Thesis. Several archival publications are in collaboration with colleagues at AFRL.

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[16]  Peter Ifju,et al.  Flapping Wing Structural Deformation and Thrust Correlation Study with Flexible Membrane Wings , 2010 .

[17]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Fluid Dynamics of Pitching and Plunging Airfoils of Reynolds Number between 1×10 4 and 6×10 4 , 2009 .

[18]  Luis P. Bernal,et al.  Experimental study of pitching and plunging airfoils at low Reynolds numbers , 2012 .

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[37]  J. Sean Humbert,et al.  Analysis of Insect-Inspired Wingstroke Kinematic Perturbations for Longitudinal Control , 2011 .

[38]  Carlos E. S. Cesnik,et al.  Effects of flexibility on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings , 2011, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[39]  Yeon Sik Baik,et al.  Unsteady Force Generation and Vortex Dynamics of Pitching and Plunging Flat Plates at Low Reynolds Number , 2011 .

[40]  Peter Ifju,et al.  Digital image correlation techniques for full-field displacement measurements of micro air vehicle flapping wings , 2009 .

[41]  J. Baeder,et al.  Quasi-Steady and Computational Aerodynamics Applied to Hovering Drosophila Dynamics , 2011 .

[42]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Fluid Dynamic Forces on Plunging Spanwise-Flexible Elliptical Flat Plates at Low Reynolds Numbers , 2011 .

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[44]  M. Ol,et al.  Unsteady force generation and vortex dynamics of pitching and plunging aerofoils , 2012, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[45]  Carlos E. S. Cesnik,et al.  An integrated experimental and computational approach to analyze flexible flapping wings in hover , 2011 .

[46]  Lawrence Ukeiley,et al.  Three-Dimensional Averaged Flow Around Rigid Flapping Wings , 2008 .

[47]  Miguel R. Visbal,et al.  Experiments and Computations on Abstractions of Perching , 2010 .

[48]  Peretz P. Friedmann,et al.  Nonlinear Aeroelastic Effects in Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles , 2008 .

[49]  Peretz P. Friedmann,et al.  Approximate Aeroelastic Modeling of Flapping Wings in Hover , 2013 .

[50]  Peter Ifju,et al.  Micro Air Vehicle Flapping Wing Effectiveness, Efficiency and Aeroelasticity Relationships , 2010 .

[51]  Luis P. Bernal,et al.  Parameter space exploration of bio-inspired hover kinematics , 2012 .

[52]  Miguel R. Visbal,et al.  Low-Reynolds-Number Aerodynamics of a Flapping Rigid Flat Plate , 2011 .

[53]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Experimental Study of Impulsively Rotated Flat Plate at Low Reynolds Number , 2010 .

[54]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Modeling of Pitching and Plunging Airfoils at Reynolds Number between 1×10 4 and 6×10 4 , 2009 .

[55]  Robert D. Love.  An experimentally-based procedure for aeroservoelastic model identification and control synthesis for morphing and flapping wings , 2011 .

[56]  Kenneth Granlund,et al.  Experiments on Free-to-Pivot Hover Motions of Multi-hinged Flat Plates , 2011 .

[57]  Carlos E. S. Cesnik,et al.  Computational fluid-structure interaction of a deformable flapping wing for micro air vehicle applications , 2008 .

[58]  Peter Ifju,et al.  Three-Dimensional Averaged Flow And Wing Deformation Around Flexible Flapping Wings , 2009 .

[59]  Luis P. Bernal,et al.  Force generation of bio-inspired hover kinematics , 2012 .

[60]  Adam Hart,et al.  Low Reynolds Number Unsteady Aerodynamic over a Pitching-Plunging Flat Plate , 2010 .

[61]  Michael V. Ol,et al.  Effect of Aspect Ratio on Rigid Lifting Flat Plates in Pitch-Plunge Motion at Low Reynolds Numbers , 2010 .

[62]  Peretz P. Friedmann,et al.  Approximate Aeroelastic Modeling of Flapping Wings: Comparison with CFD and Experimental Data , 2010 .

[63]  Wei Shyy,et al.  Fluid Dynamics of Pitching and Plunging Flat Plate at Intermediate Reynolds Numbers , 2013 .

[64]  Peter Ifju,et al.  Experimental Methodology for Flapping Wing Structure Optimization in Hovering Flight of Micro Air Vehicles , 2010 .

[65]  Peretz P. Friedmann,et al.  Approximate aerodynamic and aeroelastic modeling of flapping wings in forward flight , 2014 .