Wind and water tunnel testing of a morphing aquatic micro air vehicle

Abstract

Aerial robots capable of locomotion in both air and water would enable novel mission profiles in complex environments, such as water sampling after floods or underwater structural inspections. The design of such a vehicle is challenging because it implies significant propulsive and structural design trade-offs for operation in both fluids. In this paper, we present a unique Aquatic Micro Air Vehicle (AquaMAV), which uses a reconfigurable wing to dive into the water from flight, inspired by the plunge diving strategy of water diving birds in the family . The vehicle's performance is investigated in wind and water tunnel experiments, from which we develop a planar trajectory model. This model is used to predict the dive behaviour of the AquaMAV, and investigate the efficacy of passive dives initiated by wing folding as a means of water entry. The paper also includes first field tests of the AquaMAV prototype where the folding wings are used to initiate a plunge dive.

Hydraulic control of tuna fins: A role for the lymphatic system in vertebrate locomotion

“…The L/D increment for both fins depressed at the same conditions was 11%. This L/D ratio variation with wing sweep is comparable to the experimental data of morphing aquatic micro air vehicle (19). The improved performance of erected median fins may be advantageous at turning maneuvers (20–22), which is in agreement with video analyses of swimming tuna (fig.…”

Efficient Aerial–Aquatic Locomotion With a Single Propulsion System

“…Efficiency is therefore zero when static and v = 0, and is strongly a function of forward velocity, which determines the relative motion of propeller blades to the surrounding fluid. However, to highlight the problems of operating aerial propellers underwater, we have first analysed the torque requirements of a static 152x76mm propeller in air and water, driven by a 10 gram brushless motor currently used for aerial propulsion in an AquaMAV prototype [13]. The motor has a peak output power of 40 W, and an unloaded speed of 2000 rpm/V.…”

Global optimization for Cross-domain aircraft based on Kriging model and par-ticle swarm optimization algorithm

“…Fabian et al in MIT [ 4] and Liang et al in Beihang University [ 5] respectively designed gannet-inspired submersible aircrafts with morphing fixed wings which can be folded during the water entry process for further decrease of drag underwater. By imitating flying squids, Siddall et al in Imperial College London imported a jet propeller to gannet-like amphibious aircraft to improve the efficiency of water-exit process [ 6,7]. Chen et al in Harvard University presented a hybrid aerial-aquatic micro-robot inspired by flapping-wing insects, which was driven by a pair of pair of piezoelectric actuators with extra buoyant adjustment device based on electrochemical reactions [ 8,9].…”