Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T22:10:42.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The development of an efficient ornithopter wing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

J. D. DeLaurier
J. D. DeLaurier*
Affiliation:
Institute for Aerospace Studies, University of Toronto, Downsview, Ontario, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Analysis and testing have been used to develop a flapping wing which can efficiently produce lift and thrust for ornithopter flight. With the assumption that the only imposed motion is dihedral flapping at its root, the wing's spanwise distribution of pitching and bending is due to its aeroelastic response. Numerical studies revealed criteria for efficient designs, which then guided the development and construction of an example wing tested in a windtunnel. The experimental results for average thrust and lift compared very favourably with the theoretical predictions, confirming that such aeroelastically tailored designs provide a means for achieving mechanical flapping-wing flight.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 97 , Issue 965 , May 1993 , pp. 153 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1993 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Gibbs-smith, C.H. The Eighteen Seventies and Eighties, A History of Flying, B.T. Batsford, London, 1953, p 172,Google Scholar
2 Archer, R.D., Sapuppo, J. and Betteridge, D.S. Propulsion characteristics of flapping wings, Aeronaut J, September 1979, 83,pp 355–371.Google Scholar
3 Rayner, J. Vertebrate flapping flight mechanics and aerodynamics, and the evolution of flight in bats, Biona-report 5, Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, 1986, pp 27–74.Google Scholar
4 Brooks, A.N., Maccready, P.B., Lissaman, P.B.S. and Morgan, W.R. Development of a wing-flapping flying replica of the largest Pterosaur, AIAA Paper No. 85–1446, 1985.Google Scholar
5 DeLaurier, J.D. An aerodynamic model for flapping-wing flight, Aeronaut J, April 1993, 97, (964), pp 125–130.Google Scholar
6 DeLaurier, J.D. An experimental study of low-speed single-surface airfoils with faired leading edges, Low Reynolds Number Aerodynamics, Proceedings of the Conference, Notre Dame, Indiana, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1989, pp 161–173.Google Scholar