Analysis of Non-Symmetrical Flapping Airfoils and their Configurations

Abstract

The objective of this project is to improve the performance of the efficiency, thrust and lift of flapping wing. This study investigates the effects and interactions of different flapping parameters, airfoil's shape, active chordwise flexing and arrangement of the airfoils in tandem on the performance of the airfoils. Results show that both the variables and shape of the airfoil have a profound effect on the performance. By using non-symmetrical airfoils, high average lift coefficient can be obtained. Two-factor interactions are found to exist among the variables. The chordwise flexing results show that flexing is not necessarily beneficial for the performance of the airfoils. However, with the correct parameters, high efficiency, thrust and lift can be obtained. For the tandem airfoil simulations, all the different flapping configurations show improvement in the performance when the distance and phase angle between the two airfoils are optimal.