Investigation of the Influence of Different Flapping Wing Motion Characteristics on Aerodynamic Parameters under Incoming Flow

Guo, Z.; Liu, R.; Zheng, S.; Xu, J.; Chang, J.

doi:10.47176/jafm.18.6.3098

Investigation of the Influence of Different Flapping Wing Motion Characteristics on Aerodynamic Parameters under Incoming Flow

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

¹ College of Mechatronics Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, China

² Jinxi Industrial GroupCo, Ltd, Taiyuan, 030027, China

³ State-run Changhong Machinery Plant, Guilin, 541002, China

10.47176/jafm.18.6.3098

Abstract

There is high flight efficiency of flapping wing aircraft, and its hovering ability, wind loading rating, maneuverability and concealment are better than that of multi-rotor and fixed-wing aircraft. In this paper, the bionic flapping wing is taken as the research subject, and a complete motion process of the flapping wing is divided into four stages by numerical method under the condition of incoming flow. It is found that there is delayed stall mechanism of leading-edge vortex, wake vortex capture mechanism and rotating circulation mechanism in flapping wing flight. On this basis, the impact of flapping wing kinematic parameters on flapping wing aerodynamic characteristics is explored. The effects of different flapping motion parameters on flapping aerodynamic parameters are investigated from three perspectives, including flapping frequency, direction of flapping wing motion and trajectory of flapping wing. It is demonstrated that increasing the flapping frequency can result in an improvement in the lift resistance characteristics. The phase difference of flapping wing motion can affect the angle of attack state for airfoil during flapping. When the flapping frequency, amplitude, and phase difference are identical, there is minimal disparity in the lift characteristics among different trajectories. However, a substantial discrepancy arises in the drag coefficient. The axisymmetric of motion trajectory will also cause significant differences in the lift characteristics.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Computational Fluid Dynamics

References

Arranz, G., Flores, O., & Garcia-Villalba, M. (2020). Three-dimensional effects on the aerodynamic performance of flapping wings in tandem configuration. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 94, 102893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2020.102893

Bhat, S. S., Zhao, J., Sheridan, J., Hourigan, K., & Thompson, M. C. (2020). Effects of flapping-motion profiles on insect-wing aerodynamics. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 884, A8. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2019.929

Gonzalo, A., Arranz, G., Moriche, M., Garcia-Villalba, M., & Flores, O. (2018). From flapping to heaving: A numerical study of wings in forward flight. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 83, 293-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2018.09.006

Han, J. S., Tuan Nguyen, A., & Han, J. H. (2019). Aerodynamic characteristics of flapping wings under steady lateral inflow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 870, 735-759. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2019.255

Huang, H. F., Chen, Z., He, W., Li, Q., & Niu, T. (2024). Aerodynamic analysis and flight control of a butterfly-inspired flapping-wing robot. Ieee Robotics and Automation Letters, 9(11), 9677-9684. https://doi.org/10.1109/lra.2024.3458591

Jiaolong, Z., Jun, H., & Yong, Y. (2017). Flow structure and mechanics property of flapping wing at different reduced frequency. Chinese Mechanics Conference-2017 and Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Chinese Mechanics Society, Beijing, China.

Jin, B. R., Wang, L., Ravi, S., Young, J., Lai, J. C. S., & Tian, F. B. (2024). Enhancing tip vortices to improve the lift production through shear layers in flapping-wing flow control. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 999, 33, A25. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2024.942

Lee, H., Jang, J., Wang, J., Son, Y., & Lee, S. (2019). Comparison of cicada hindwings with hindwing-less drosophila for flapping motion at low Reynolds number. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 87, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2019.02.015

Lee, N., Lee, S., Cho, H., & Shin, S. (2018). Effect of flexibility on flapping wing characteristics in hover and forward flight. Computers & Fluids, 173, 111-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compfluid.2018.03.017

Ma, D. F., Song, B. F., Gao, S. J., Xue, D., & Xuan, J. L. (2024). Designing efficient bird-like flapping-wing aerial vehicles: insights from aviation perspective [Review]. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 19(6), 27, 061001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/ad88c4

McMichael, J. M. (1997). Micro Air vehicles-toward a new dimension in flight. http://www.arpa.gov/tto/MAV/mav_auvsi.html. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1573950399959036928

Olivier, M., & Dumas, G. (2016). Effects of mass and chordwise flexibility on 2D self-propelled flapping wings. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 64, 46-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2016.04.002

Shyy, W., Trizila, P., Kang, C. K., & Aono, H. (2009). Can tip vortices enhance lift of a flapping wing? [Editorial Material]. Aiaa Journal, 47(2), 289-293. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.41732

Srinidhi, N. G., & Vengadesan, S. (2017). Ground effect on tandem flapping wings hovering. Computers & Fluids, 152, 40-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compfluid.2017.04.006

Tay, W. B. (2017). Effect of different types of wing-wing interactions in flapping MAVs. Journal of Bionic Engineering, 14(1), 60-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1672-6529(16)60378-5

Trizila, P., Kang, C. K., Aono, H., Shyy, W., & Visbal, M. (2011). Low-Reynolds-number aerodynamics of a flapping rigid flat plate [Proceedings Paper]. AIAA Journal, 49(4), 806-823. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J050827

Verma, A., & Kulkarni, V. (2024). Monitoring the wake of low reynolds number airfoils for their aerodynamic loads assessment. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 17(11), 2481-2498. https://doi.org/10.47176/jafm.17.11.2607

Wang, Y., He, X., He, G., Wang, Q., Chen, L., & Liu, X. (2022). Aerodynamic performance of the flexibility of corrugated dragonfly wings in flapping flight. Acta Mechanica Sinica, 38(11). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-022-22038-x

Wu, J., Chen, L., Zhou, C., Hsu, S. J., & Cheng, B. (2019). Aerodynamics of a Flapping-Perturbed Revolving Wing. AIAA Journal, 57(9), 3728-3743. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J056584

Xiansheng, H., Yu, C., Qi, L., & Bin, L. (2023). Research and test of X-Wing flapping-wing mechanism based on the crank slider mechanism. 47(03), 57-64. https://doi.org/10.16578/j.issn.1004.2539.2023.03.00 8