Dynamics and control of a flapping-wing aircraft

Abstract

The unsteady aerodynamics of a rigid cambered rectangular wing in flapping flight at high and low Reynolds number is studied both numerically and experimentally. A three-dimensional unsteady vortex-lattice panel method and a pressure-based segregated finite-volume solver are used for the numerical computations. Investigations of a two-dimensional airfoil in pure plunging motion using these above methods are first performed and validated. Effects of geometry and motion parameters on lift/thrust generation of a three-dimensional rigid cambered wing in flapping flight at high Reynolds number are then investigated. Optimum pitch angles for maximizing the thrust generation is identified for downstroke and upstroke. Leading-edge vortices which enhance the lift generation in flapping flight are captured in the viscous simulation. An experiment of a full-scale model of 30cm span which is capable of changing pitch angle during flapping motion is performed in low speed wind tunnel. The numerical simulations and experiments show that rigid cambered wing may present a good alternative for lift/thrust generation of flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicle applications.