Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:45:59.496Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Realisation and testing of novel fully articulated bird-inspired flapping wings for efficient and agile UAVs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2021

D. Kumar Open the ORCID record for D. Kumar [Opens in a new window] ,
T. Goyal ,
S. Kamle ,
P.M. Mohite  and
E.M. Lau Open the ORCID record for E.M. Lau [Opens in a new window]
D. Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Kanpur India and Department of Aeronautical Engineering Chaoyang University of Technology Taichung Taiwan
T. Goyal
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Kanpur India
S. Kamle
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Kanpur India
P.M. Mohite
Affiliation:
Department of Aerospace Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Kanpur India
E.M. Lau*
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautical Engineering Chaoyang University of Technology Taichung Taiwan
*
edwin@cyut.edu.tw
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Large birds have evolved an effective wing anatomy and mechanics, enabling airborne mastery of manoeuvres and endurance. For these very reasons, they are difficult to replicate and study. The aim of the present work is to achieve active wing articulations to mimic natural bird flapping towards efficient and agile Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The proposed design, bio-mimicking the black-headed gull, Larus ridibundus, has three active and independent servo-controlled wing joints at the shoulder, elbow and wrist to achieve complex controls. The construction of the wing is realised through a polymeric skin and carbon fibre–epoxy composite spars and ribs. The wing movements (flapping, span reduction and twisting) envelopes of the full-scale robotic gull (Robogull) are examined using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique and laser displacement sensing. Its aerodynamic performance was evaluated in a wind tunnel at various flapping parameters, wind speeds and angles of attack. It is observed that a flapping amplitude of 45 $^\circ$ is more favourable than 90 $^\circ$ for generating higher lift and thrust, while also depending on the presence of span reduction, twist and wind speed. The model performs better at a flying velocity of 4m/s as compared with 8m/s. Both lift and thrust are high at a higher flapping frequency of 2.5Hz. Combined variation of the flapping frequency and stroke ratio should be considered for better aerodynamic performance. The combination of a lower stroke ratio of 0.5 with a flapping frequency of 2.5Hz generates higher lift and thrust than other combinations. Span reduction and wing twist notably and independently enhance lift and thrust, respectively. An increase in the angle-of-attack increases lift but decreases thrust. The model can also generate a significant rolling moment when set at a bank angle of 20 $^\circ$ and operated with independently controlled flapping amplitudes for the wings (45 $^\circ$ for the left wing and 90 $^\circ$ for the right wing). Based on the optimal values for the flapping amplitude (45 $^\circ$ ), flapping frequency (2.5Hz) and flying velocity (4m/s), the Strouhal number (St) of the Robogull model is 0.24, lying in the optimal range ( $0.2 < \mathrm{St} < 0.4$ ) for natural flyers and swimmers.

Keywords

UAVsFlapping wingsBio-mimickingMorphingAerodynamic testingSeagull
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 125 , Issue 1294 , December 2021 , pp. 2114 - 2148
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

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

Valavanis, K.P. and Vachtsevanos, G.J. Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Springer, 2015, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valasek, J. Morphing Aerospace Vehicles and Structures, vol. 57, John Wiley & Sons, 2012, Chichester.Google Scholar
Dhawan, S. Bird flight, Sadhana, 1991, 16, (4), pp 275–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pennycuick, C.J. Modelling the Flying Bird, Elsevier, 2008, London.Google Scholar
DeLaurier, J.D. The development of an efficient ornithopter wing, Aeronaut. J., 1993, 97, pp 153–153.Google Scholar
Ahmed, M.R., Abdelrahman, M.M., ElBayoumi, G.M. and ElNomrossy, M.M. Optimal wing twist distribution for roll control of MAVs, Aeronaut. J., 2011, 115, (1172), pp 641–649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chanzy, Q. and Keane, A.J. Analysis and experimental validation of morphing UAV wings, Aeronaut. J., 2018, 122, (1249), pp 390–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stowers, A.K. and Lentink, D. Folding in and out: passive morphing in flapping wings, Bioinspir. Biomim., 2015, 10, (2), p 025001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, D., Zhao, S., Da Ronch, A., Xiang, J., Drofelnik, J., Li, Y., Zhang, L., Wu, Y., Kintscher, M. and Monner, H.P. A review of modelling and analysis of morphing wings, Prog. Aerosp. Sci., 2018, 100, pp 46–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, X., Avital, E., Paul, G., Rezaienia, M.A., Wen, P. and Korakianitis, T. Experimental study of surface curvature effects on aerodynamic performance of a low Reynolds number airfoil for use in small wind turbines, J. Renew. Sustain. Energy, 2016, 8, (5), p 053303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avital, E.J., Korakianitis, T. and Motallebi, F. Low Reynolds number proprotor aerodynamic performance improvement using the continuous surface curvature design approach, Aeronaut. J., 2019, 123, (1259), pp 20–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korakianitis, T., Hamakhan, I., Rezaienia, M., Wheeler, A., Avital, E. and Williams, J. Design of high-efficiency turbomachinery blades for energy conversion devices with the three-dimensional prescribed surface curvature distribution blade design (CIRCLE) method, Appl. Energy, 2012, 89, (1), pp 215–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amendola, G., Dimino, I., Magnifico, M. and Pecora, R. Distributed actuation concepts for a morphing aileron device, Aeronaut. J., 2016, 120, (1231), p 1365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Communier, D., Botez, R.M. and Wong, T. Design and validation of a new morphing camber system by testing in the Price–Padoussis subsonic wind tunnel, Aerospace, 2020, 7, (3), p 23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lafountain, C., Cohen, K. and Abdallah, S. Camber controlled airfoil design for morphing UAV, 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting Including The New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition, p 1435.Google Scholar
Grant, D.T., Abdulrahim, M. and Lind, R. Design and analysis of biomimetic joints for morphing of micro air vehicles, Bioinspir. Biomim., 2010, 5, (4), p 045007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raney, D.L. and Slominski, E.C. Mechanization and control concepts for biologically inspired micro air vehicles, J. Aircr., 2004, 41, (6), pp 1257–1265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumar, D., Pawar, D., Singh, G., Kamle, S. and Mohite, P.M. Development and analysis of aeroelastically tailored carbon fiber-CNT/PP composite bioinspired wings, 33rd AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, p 3158.Google Scholar
Kumar, D., Mohite, P.M. and Kamle, S. Dragonfly inspired nanocomposite flapping wing for micro air vehicles, J. Bionic Eng., 2019, 16, (5), pp 894–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoon, S., Kang, L.H. and Jo, S. Development of air vehicle with active flapping and twisting of wing, J. Bionic Eng., 2011, 8, (1), pp 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feshalami, B.F., Djavareshkian, M.H., Yousefi, M., Zaree, A.H. and Mehraban, A.A. Experimental investigation of flapping mechanism of the black-headed gull in forward flight, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. G J. Aerosp. Eng., 2019, 233, (12), pp 4333–4349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, S., Kim, M., Kim, S. and Suk, J. Design, fabrication, and flight test of articulated ornithopter, 10th International Micro Air Vehicles Conference, Australia, pp 1–6.Google Scholar
Ryu, S.W., Lee, J.G. and Kim, H.J. Design, fabrication, and analysis of flapping and folding wing mechanism for a robotic bird, J. Bionic Eng., 2020, 17, (2), pp 229–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guerrero, J.E., Pacioselli, C., Pralits, J.O., Negrello, F., Silvestri, P., Lucifredi, A. and Bottaro, A. Preliminary design of a small-sized flapping UAV: I. Aerodynamic performance and static longitudinal stability, Meccanica, 2016, 51, (6), pp 1343–1367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Send, W., Fischer, M., Jebens, K., Mugrauer, R., Nagarathinam, A. and Scharstein, F. Artificial hinged-wing bird with active torsion and partially linear kinematics, Proceeding of 28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences. Brisbane, Australia, pp 1–10.Google Scholar
Jiang, H., Zhou, C. and Xie, P. Design and kinematic analysis of seagull inspired flapping wing robot, 2016 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA). IEEE, pp 1382–1386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karimian, S. and Jahanbin, Z. Bond graph modeling of a typical flapping wing micro-air-vehicle with the elastic articulated wings, Meccanica, 2020, 55, (6), pp 1263–1294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerdes, J., Holness, A., Perez-Rosado, A., Roberts, L., Greisinger, A., Barnett, E., Kempny, J., Lingam, D., Yeh, C.H. and Bruck, H.A. Robo Raven: a flapping-wing air vehicle with highly compliant and independently controlled wings, Soft Rob., 2014, 1, (4), pp 275–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, T., Kuykendoll, K., Rhew, R. and Jones, S. Avian wing geometry and kinematics, AIAA J., 2006, 44, (5), p 954.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berg, C. and Rayner, J. The moment of inertia of bird wings and the inertial power requirement for flapping flight, J. Exp. Biol., 1995, 198, (8), pp 1655–1664.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shamoun-Baranes, J. and van Loon, E. Energetic influence on gull flight strategy selection, J. Exp. Biol., 2006, 209, (18), pp 3489–3498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruderer, B. and Boldt, A. Flight characteristics of birds: I. Radar measurements of speeds, Int. J. Avian Sci. (IBIS) 2001, 143, (2), pp 178–204.Google Scholar
Mueller, T.J. Aerodynamic measurements at low Reynolds numbers for fixed wing micro-air vehicles, Tech rep, University of Notre Dame, 2000.Google Scholar
Barlow, J.B., Rae, W.H. and Pope, A. Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Testing, John Wiley & Sons, 1999, New York.Google Scholar
Hong, Y. and Altman, A. Lift from spanwise flow in simple flapping wings, J. Aircr., 2008, 45, (4), pp 1206–1216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, H., Kumar, A.G., Abate, G. and Albertani, R. An experimental investigation on the aerodynamic performances of flexible membrane wings in flapping flight, Aerosp. Sci. Technol., 2010, 14, (8), pp 575–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaac, K.M., Rolwes, J. and Colozza, A. Aerodynamics of a flapping and pitching wing using simulations and experiments, AIAA J., 2008, 46, (6), pp 1505–1515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ho, S., Nassef, H., Pornsinsirirak, N., Tai, Y.C. and Ho, C.M. Unsteady aerodynamics and flow control for flapping wing flyers, Prog. Aerosp. Sci., 2003, 39, (8), pp 635–681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, G.K., Nudds, R.L. and Thomas, A.L. Flying and swimming animals cruise at a Strouhal number tuned for high power efficiency, Nature, 2003, 425, (6959), pp 707–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bie, D., Zuo, S., Li, H., Shao, H. and Li, D. Aerodynamic analysis of a gull-inspired flapping wing glider, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 887, IOP Publishing, p 012003.Google Scholar
Moelyadi, M.A., Adi Putra, H. and Sachs, G. Unsteady aerodynamics of flapping wing of a bird, J. Eng. Technol. Sci., 2013, 45, (1).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellington, C.P., van den Berg, C., Willmott, A.P. and Thomas, A.L.R. Leading-edge vortices in insect flight, Nature, 1996, 384, pp 626–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mazaheri, K. and Ebrahimi, A. Experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing vehicle in forward flight, J. Fluids Struct., 2011, 27, (4), pp 586–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, C.S., Hwu, C. and Young, W.B. The thrust and lift of an ornithopter’s membrane wings with simple flapping motion, Aerosp. Sci. Technol., 2006, 10, (2), pp 111–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muniappan, A., Duriyanandhan, V. and Baskar, V. Lift characteristics of flapping wing micro-air vehicle (MAV), AIAA 3rd “Unmanned Unlimited” Technical Conference, Workshop and Exhibit, p 6331.Google Scholar
Aditya, K. and Malolan, V. Investigation of Strouhal number effect on flapping wing micro air vehicle, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, p 486.Google Scholar
Chang, X., Ma, R. and Zhang, L. Numerical study on the folding mechanism of seagull’s flapping wing, Kongqi Donglixue Xuebao/Acta Aerodynamica Sinica, 2018, 36, (1), pp 135–143.Google Scholar
Chin, D.D. and Lentink, D. Flapping wing aerodynamics: from insects to vertebrates, J. Exp. Biol., 2016, 219, (7), pp 920–932.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chang, X., Zhang, L., Ma, R. and Wang, N. Numerical investigation on aerodynamic performance of a bionic flapping wing, Appl. Math. Mech., 2019, 40, (11), pp 1625–1646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar