Experimental Investigation of the Pressure, Force, and Torque Characteristics of a Rigid Flapping Wing

Yeo, Derrick; Atkins, Ella M.; Bernal, Luis P.; Shyy, Wei

doi:10.2514/6.2012-849

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Due to the obvious difficulties in embedding transducers in real bird wings, the number of measurement locations in these studies was limited 8 and 16 respectively. Yeo et al (2012) was able to obtain differential pressure measurements at 9 locations on a wing using a technique similar to that described here, while Takahashi et al (2010) was able to embed a single custom-made MEMS pressure sensor into the wing of a small (6.8 g) ornithopter. Each of these studies was aimed at estimating the total force on the wing by integration of the pressure measurements, as opposed to making inferences about the detailed structure of the flow.…”

Section: Mechanical Flapping Rigmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gust-mitigating potential of flapping wings

et al. 2016

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Nature's flapping-wing flyers are adept at negotiating highly turbulent flows across a wide range of scales. This is in part due to their ability to quickly detect and counterract disturbances to their flight path, but may also be assisted by an inherent aerodynamic property of flapping wings. In this study, we subject a mechanical flapping wing to replicated atmospheric turbulence across a range of flapping frequencies and turbulence intensities. By means of flow visualization and surface pressure measurements, we determine the salient effects of large-scale freestream turbulence on the flow field, and on the phase-average and fluctuating components of pressure and lift. It is shown that at lower flapping frequencies, turbulence dominates the instantaneous flow field, and the random fluctuating component of lift contributes significantly to the total lift. At higher flapping frequencies, kinematic forcing begins to dominate and the flow field becomes more consistent from cycle to cycle. Turbulence still modulates the flapping-induced flow field, as evidenced in particular by a variation in the timing and extent of leading edge vortex formation during the early downstroke. The random fluctuating component of lift contributes less to the total lift at these frequencies, providing evidence that flapping wings do indeed provide some inherent gust mitigation.

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Section: Mechanical Flapping Rigmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gust-mitigating potential of flapping wings

et al. 2016

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“…This avoids normalization difficulties associated with small dynamic pressure and allows a wing lift estimate to be made with fewer measurements, reducing the effects of sensor noise. The authors implemented a similar differential pressure sensing and integration concept with instrumented flapping wings and found it offered good estimates of unsteady aerodynamic lift [14]. Using differential pressure measurements, a coarse discretization and area integration scheme, lift estimates from pressure sensor measurements in unsteady flow conditions can be calculated.…”

Section: Bexpanded Wing Port Arraymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For small UAS applications, the authors have previously used a pressure based strategy to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces over a set of flapping wings in a wind tunnel test environment with the intent of implementing control through flap stroke actuation [14]. Under attached flow conditions, Cox et al [17] used pressure based estimates of the lift curve above an airfoil as feedback for an automated a cruise flap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerodynamic Sensing for a Fixed Wing UAS Operating at High Angles of Attack

Shyy

Bernal

Yeo

et al. 2012

AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference

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The flight profile of typical small unmanned air systems (UAS) has expanded in the last decade beyond those encountered by traditional fixed-wing transport and rotary-wing aircraft. These new flight conditions may involve unusual flight mechanics as with flapping wing flight or complex aerodynamics when performing difficult maneuvers as part of routine operations. Such scenarios typically involve unsteady and inherently non-linear aerodynamics that challenge current autopilots relying primarily on inertial measurements and GPS data. The addition of aerodynamic feedback to the current UAS sensing and control framework can enable the autopilots of aircraft operating under such conditions to better achieve their control objectives and expand their autonomous flight capabilities. This paper describes the ongoing development of a pressurebased aerodynamic data system for a fixed wing UAS operating at high angles of attack. Expansions to the aerodynamic instrumentation package based on flight test results are described. These include an expanded set of wing pressure ports and a custom designed multi-hole probe for prop-wash estimation. Autonomous flight test data from the first generation UAS system transitioning between cruise and hover are presented and discussed. Open loop flight data acquired using the upgraded sensing concept is then presented. Flight test results show that the sensing package provides data that is complementary to a typical Inertial Measurement Unit and can support the development of feedback control strategies based on aerodynamic measurements.

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“…When the risk is not assumable by other aerial platforms, flapping-wing systems could be an alternative solution for these applications [13], [14]. UAS apply the use of their wings to perform enough force to fly, so no propellers are implied.…”

Section: State Of Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Forces Involved in the Perching Maneuver of Flapping-Wing Aerial Systems and Development of an Ultra-Lightweight Perching System

Perez-Sanchez

Gomez-Tamm

Garcia-Rubiales

et al. 2021

2021 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)

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Trying to optimize the design of aerial robotics systems, this work presents an optimized low-weight landing system for flapping-wing aerial robots. The design, based on the use of low-sized neodymium magnets, intends to provide that these aerial robots have the capability of landing in restricted areas by using the presented solution. This capacity will increase the application range of these robots. A study of this situation has been done to analyze the perching maneuver forces and evaluate the system. The solution presented is low-weight, lowsized, and also relatively inexpensive. Therefore, this solution may apply to most ornithopter robots. Design, analysis of the implied forces, development and experimental validation of the idea are presented in this work, demonstrating that the developed solution can overcome the ornithopter's payload limitation providing an efficient and reliable solution.

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Experimental Investigation of the Pressure, Force, and Torque Characteristics of a Rigid Flapping Wing

Cited by 7 publications

References 25 publications

The gust-mitigating potential of flapping wings

The gust-mitigating potential of flapping wings

Aerodynamic Sensing for a Fixed Wing UAS Operating at High Angles of Attack

Analysis of Forces Involved in the Perching Maneuver of Flapping-Wing Aerial Systems and Development of an Ultra-Lightweight Perching System

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