The force-generation mechanism of a dovelike flapping-wing micro air vehicle was studied by numerical simulation and experiment.To obtain the real deformation pattern of the flapping wing,the digital image correlation...The force-generation mechanism of a dovelike flapping-wing micro air vehicle was studied by numerical simulation and experiment.To obtain the real deformation pattern of the flapping wing,the digital image correlation technology was used to measure the dynamic deformation of the wing.The dynamic deformation data were subsequently interpolated and embedded into the CFD solver to account for the aeroelastic effects.The dynamic deformation data were further used to calculate the inertial forces by regarding the wing as a system of particles to take into account the wing flexibility.The temporal variation of the forces produced by the flapping wing was measured by a miniature load cell.The numerical results provide more flow details of the unsteady aerodynamics of the flapping wing in terms of vortex formation and evolution.The calculated results of the inertial forces are analyzed and compared with the CFD results which represent the aerodynamic forces.In addition,the total forces,i.e.,the sum of the CFD result and inertial result,are compared with the experimental results,and an overall good agreement is obtained.展开更多
Natural flyers have extraordinary flight skills and their prominent aerodynamic performance has attracted a lot of attention.However,the aerodynamic mechanism of birds’flapping wing kinematics still lacks in-depth un...Natural flyers have extraordinary flight skills and their prominent aerodynamic performance has attracted a lot of attention.However,the aerodynamic mechanism of birds’flapping wing kinematics still lacks in-depth understanding.In this paper,the aerodynamic performance of owl-like airfoil undergoing bio-inspired flapping kinematics extracted from a free-flying owl wing has been numerically investigated.The overset mesh technique is used to deal with the large range movements of flapping airfoils.The bio-inspired kinematics consist of plunging and pitching movement.A pure sinusoidal motion and a defined motion composed of plunging of sinusoidal motion and pitching of the bio-inspired kinematics are selected for comparison.The other two NACA airfoils are also selected to figure out the advantages of the owl-like airfoil.It is found that the cambered owl-like airfoil can enhance lift during the downstroke.The bio-inspired kinematics have an obvious advantage in lift generation with a presence of higher peak lift and positive lift over a wider proportion of the flapping cycle.Meanwhile,the bio-inspired motion is more economical for a lower power consumption compared with the sinusoidal motion.The sinusoidal flapping motion is better for thrust generation for a higher peak thrust value in both upstroke and downstroke,while the bio-inspired kinematics mainly generate thrust during the downstroke but produce more drag during the upstroke.The defined motion has similar lift performance with the bio-inspired kinematics,while it consumes more energy and generates less thrust.The unsteady flow field around airfoils is also analyzed to explain the corresponding phenomenon.The research in this paper is helpful to understand the flight mechanism of birds and to design a micro air vehicle with higher performance.展开更多
Wingtip slots,where the outer primary feathers of birds split and spread vertically,are regarded as an evolved favorable feature that could effectively improve their aerodynamic performance.They have inspired many to ...Wingtip slots,where the outer primary feathers of birds split and spread vertically,are regarded as an evolved favorable feature that could effectively improve their aerodynamic performance.They have inspired many to perform experiments and simulations as well as to relate their results to aircraft design.This paper aims to provide guidance for the research on the aerodynamic mechanism of wingtip slots.Following a review of previous wingtip slot research,four imperfections are put forward:vacancies in research content,inconsistencies in research conclusions,limitations of early research methods,and shortage of the aerodynamic mechanism analysis.On this basis,further explorations and expansion of the influence factors for steady state are needed;more attention should be poured into the application of flow field integration method to decompose drag,and evaluation of variation in induced drag seems a more rational choice.Geometric and kinematic parameters of wingtip slot structure in the unsteady state,as well as the flexibility of wingtips,should be taken into account.As for the aerodynamic mechanism of wingtip slots,the emphasis can be placed on the study of the formation,development,and evolution of wingtip vortices on slotted wings.Besides,some research strategies and feasibility analyses are proposed for each part of the research.展开更多
The slotted wingtip structure of birds is considered to be the product of improving flight efficiency in the process of evolution. It can change the vortex structure of wingtip and improve aerodynamic efficiency. This...The slotted wingtip structure of birds is considered to be the product of improving flight efficiency in the process of evolution. It can change the vortex structure of wingtip and improve aerodynamic efficiency. This paper reports a numerical investigation of slotted wing configuration undergoing bio-inspired flapping kinematics(consisting of plunging and in-line movement)extracted from a free-flying bald eagle wing. The aim is to eluci-date the collective mechanism of the flow generated by slotted tips and the lift contribution of each tip. Specifi-cally, the objective of the study is to determine how changes in the wing spacing affect the resulting aerodynamic interaction between the slotted tips and how that affects the force generation and efficiency. Changes in the phase angle between the flapping motions of slotted tips, as well as the spacings among them,can affect the resulting vortex inter-actions. The rear tips often operates in the wake of the frontal tips and, meanwhile, the vortex generated by the movement of the rear tips promote the frontal tips.The interaction of vortices in time and space leads to wing-wing interference and the flow around slotted tips becomes complicated and unstable. The innovative study of wingtip slot in unsteady state leads us to find that the aerodynamic interaction among slotted tips makes the overall lift characteristic better than that of the unslotted wings. The slotted wing configuration can efficiently convert more energy into lift. As the flapping frequency increases, the collective feature of slotted wing with constantly changing gaps can be more advantageous to enhance lift-generation performance.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11872314)the Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province of China (No. 2020GY-154)
文摘The force-generation mechanism of a dovelike flapping-wing micro air vehicle was studied by numerical simulation and experiment.To obtain the real deformation pattern of the flapping wing,the digital image correlation technology was used to measure the dynamic deformation of the wing.The dynamic deformation data were subsequently interpolated and embedded into the CFD solver to account for the aeroelastic effects.The dynamic deformation data were further used to calculate the inertial forces by regarding the wing as a system of particles to take into account the wing flexibility.The temporal variation of the forces produced by the flapping wing was measured by a miniature load cell.The numerical results provide more flow details of the unsteady aerodynamics of the flapping wing in terms of vortex formation and evolution.The calculated results of the inertial forces are analyzed and compared with the CFD results which represent the aerodynamic forces.In addition,the total forces,i.e.,the sum of the CFD result and inertial result,are compared with the experimental results,and an overall good agreement is obtained.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11872314 and U1613227)the China Scholarship Council,Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province of China(No.2020GY-154)Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China(No.2019JQ-394)。
文摘Natural flyers have extraordinary flight skills and their prominent aerodynamic performance has attracted a lot of attention.However,the aerodynamic mechanism of birds’flapping wing kinematics still lacks in-depth understanding.In this paper,the aerodynamic performance of owl-like airfoil undergoing bio-inspired flapping kinematics extracted from a free-flying owl wing has been numerically investigated.The overset mesh technique is used to deal with the large range movements of flapping airfoils.The bio-inspired kinematics consist of plunging and pitching movement.A pure sinusoidal motion and a defined motion composed of plunging of sinusoidal motion and pitching of the bio-inspired kinematics are selected for comparison.The other two NACA airfoils are also selected to figure out the advantages of the owl-like airfoil.It is found that the cambered owl-like airfoil can enhance lift during the downstroke.The bio-inspired kinematics have an obvious advantage in lift generation with a presence of higher peak lift and positive lift over a wider proportion of the flapping cycle.Meanwhile,the bio-inspired motion is more economical for a lower power consumption compared with the sinusoidal motion.The sinusoidal flapping motion is better for thrust generation for a higher peak thrust value in both upstroke and downstroke,while the bio-inspired kinematics mainly generate thrust during the downstroke but produce more drag during the upstroke.The defined motion has similar lift performance with the bio-inspired kinematics,while it consumes more energy and generates less thrust.The unsteady flow field around airfoils is also analyzed to explain the corresponding phenomenon.The research in this paper is helpful to understand the flight mechanism of birds and to design a micro air vehicle with higher performance.
基金support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant 11872314 and U1613227)Youth Program of Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China(Grant 2019JQ-394)Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province of China(Grant 2020GY-154).
文摘Wingtip slots,where the outer primary feathers of birds split and spread vertically,are regarded as an evolved favorable feature that could effectively improve their aerodynamic performance.They have inspired many to perform experiments and simulations as well as to relate their results to aircraft design.This paper aims to provide guidance for the research on the aerodynamic mechanism of wingtip slots.Following a review of previous wingtip slot research,four imperfections are put forward:vacancies in research content,inconsistencies in research conclusions,limitations of early research methods,and shortage of the aerodynamic mechanism analysis.On this basis,further explorations and expansion of the influence factors for steady state are needed;more attention should be poured into the application of flow field integration method to decompose drag,and evaluation of variation in induced drag seems a more rational choice.Geometric and kinematic parameters of wingtip slot structure in the unsteady state,as well as the flexibility of wingtips,should be taken into account.As for the aerodynamic mechanism of wingtip slots,the emphasis can be placed on the study of the formation,development,and evolution of wingtip vortices on slotted wings.Besides,some research strategies and feasibility analyses are proposed for each part of the research.
基金the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11872314 and U1613227)the Key R&D Program in Shaanxi Province of China(No.2020GY-154)。
文摘The slotted wingtip structure of birds is considered to be the product of improving flight efficiency in the process of evolution. It can change the vortex structure of wingtip and improve aerodynamic efficiency. This paper reports a numerical investigation of slotted wing configuration undergoing bio-inspired flapping kinematics(consisting of plunging and in-line movement)extracted from a free-flying bald eagle wing. The aim is to eluci-date the collective mechanism of the flow generated by slotted tips and the lift contribution of each tip. Specifi-cally, the objective of the study is to determine how changes in the wing spacing affect the resulting aerodynamic interaction between the slotted tips and how that affects the force generation and efficiency. Changes in the phase angle between the flapping motions of slotted tips, as well as the spacings among them,can affect the resulting vortex inter-actions. The rear tips often operates in the wake of the frontal tips and, meanwhile, the vortex generated by the movement of the rear tips promote the frontal tips.The interaction of vortices in time and space leads to wing-wing interference and the flow around slotted tips becomes complicated and unstable. The innovative study of wingtip slot in unsteady state leads us to find that the aerodynamic interaction among slotted tips makes the overall lift characteristic better than that of the unslotted wings. The slotted wing configuration can efficiently convert more energy into lift. As the flapping frequency increases, the collective feature of slotted wing with constantly changing gaps can be more advantageous to enhance lift-generation performance.
