Numerical investigation on aerodynamic performance of a bionic flapping wing

Chang, Xinghua; Zhang, Laiping; Ma, Ruixuan; Wang, Nianhua

doi:10.1007/s10483-019-2532-8

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Ashraf [9] studied the effect of varying airfoil thickness and camber on unsteady airfoils via numerical simulations for fully laminar and fully turbulent flow regimes, without considering laminar separation and transition. Chang [10] studied the aerodynamic characteristics of three-dimensional flapping wings, but the changes in demand for the airfoils at different sections of the wing were not considered, and the same airfoil was applied throughout the wingspan. DeLaurier [11] designed a flapping wing with an airfoil that changed continuously from wing tip to wing root, but the viscosity effect was not considered during the design, and the method for selecting airfoils was not provided.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Calculation and Selection of Airfoil for Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on Integral Boundary Layer Equations

Qi,

Zhu,

2023

Aerospace

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The flight of a migratory bird-like flapping-wing aircraft is characterized by a low Reynolds number and unsteadiness. The selection of airfoil profiles is critical to designing an efficient flapping-wing aircraft. To choose the suitable airfoil for various wing sections, it is necessary to calculate the aerodynamic forces of the unsteady two-dimensional airfoil with a Reynolds number in the range of 105. While accurate, calculating this by solving the Navier–Stokes equations is impractical for early design stages due to its high consumption of computing resources and time. The computational demands for extending it to 3D aerodynamic calculations are even more prohibitive. In this paper, a relatively simple method is proposed. The two-dimensional unsteady panel method is utilized to derive the inviscid flow field, the unsteady integral boundary layer method is utilized to solve the boundary layer viscous flow, and the eN transition model is adopted to predict the position of the transition. These models are coupled with the semi-inverse interaction method to solve the aerodynamics of the unsteady low-Reynolds-number two-dimensional airfoil. The unsteady aerodynamics of the symmetric and cambered airfoils at different wing sections are calculated respectively by the proposed method. Mechanism analysis of the calculation results is conducted, and a symmetrical airfoil or a slightly cambered airfoil is recommended for the wing tip, a moderately cambered airfoil is suggested for the outer-wing section, and a highly cambered airfoil is suggested for the inner-wing section.

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Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Calculation and Selection of Airfoil for Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on Integral Boundary Layer Equations

Qi,

Zhu,

2023

Aerospace

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“…The thrust production and efficiency increase as the downstroke ratio increases, whereas the lift production and lift efficiency increase as the downstroke ratio decreases. However, the numerical investigation that was conducted by Chang et al 19 on a 3D bird like flapping wing at a Reynolds number of 2 × 10 5 showed that as the downstroke ratio increases, both the lift production and efficiency were increasing instead. This indicates that the flapping kinematics and the wing shape can have a major effect on the aerodynamic performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of the wing spacing, phase difference, and downstroke ratio on flapping tandem wings

Younsi

El-Hadj

Rahim

et al. 2022

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C:

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In this paper, a numerical study on the effects of the asymmetry in flapping duration, wing spacing, and phase difference on the aerodynamic performance of flapping tandem wings is carried out. Three downstroke ratios to flapping period ( ξ) are chosen, ξ = 0.35, ξ = 0.5, and ξ = 0.65, where ξ = 0.5 represents a symmetrical stroke. Four values of wing spacing L are selected: 1.25c, 1.5c, 1.75c, and 2c (c is the wing chord length), while the phase difference between the fore and hind wings is ranged from 0° to 270° with an interval of 90°. The effects of these parameters on the lift and thrust generation are investigated. A study of the energy consumption and the flight efficiency has also been taken into consideration. The flow variables in the computational domain around the flapping tandem wings are solved using the commercial software Fluent. The results show that the effects of the downstroke ratio on the aerodynamic performance are significantly higher than the effects of the wing spacing and the phase difference. The thrust generation and efficiency are maximized in the case with faster upstroke ( ξ =0.65). However, the maximum lift generation and efficiency are located in the case with faster downstroke ( ξ =0.35) instead. The optimal configuration is obtained using a minimum of wing spacing (1.25c) and phase angle (0°) with a downstroke ratio of 0.436.

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“…Verstraete [10] utilized the unsteady vortex lattice method and a linear finite element model to simulate a seagull-like flapping wing with folding and studied the effect of folding on the flutter speed. Chang [11] applied the method of solving the Navier-Stokes equations to calculate the foldingflapping-wing model. The torsional deformation in the model was preset without the fluid-structure interaction calculation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Spanwise Folding on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Passively Deformed Flapping Wing

Qi,

Ding,

Zhu

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

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The wings of birds exhibit multi-degree-of-freedom motions during flight. Among them, the flapping folding motion and chordwise passive deformation of the wings are prominent features of large birds in flight, contributing to their exceptional flight capabilities. This article presents a method for the fast and accurate calculation of folding passive torsional flapping wings in the early design stage. The method utilizes the unsteady three-dimensional panel method to solve the aerodynamic force and the linear beam element model to analyze the fluid–structure coupling problem. Performance comparisons of folding flapping wings with different kinematics are conducted, and the effects of various kinematic parameters on folding flapping wings are analyzed. The results indicate that kinematic parameters significantly influence the lift coefficient, thrust coefficient, and propulsion efficiency. Selecting the appropriate kinematic and geometric parameters is crucial for enhancing the efficiency of the folding flapping wing.

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Numerical investigation on aerodynamic performance of a bionic flapping wing

Cited by 15 publications

References 30 publications

Calculation and Selection of Airfoil for Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on Integral Boundary Layer Equations

Calculation and Selection of Airfoil for Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on Integral Boundary Layer Equations

Effects of the wing spacing, phase difference, and downstroke ratio on flapping tandem wings

The Effect of Spanwise Folding on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Passively Deformed Flapping Wing

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