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Design and performance analysis of different cambered wings for flapping-wing aerial vehicles based on wind tunnel test

Min Zhao (School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Bionic Unmanned Systems, Ministry of Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China)
Wei He (School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Bionic Unmanned Systems, Ministry of Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China)
Xiuyu He (School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Bionic Unmanned Systems, Ministry of Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China)
Liang Zhang (School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Bionic Unmanned Systems, Ministry of Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China)
Hongxue Zhao (School of Intelligence Science and Technology, Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Bionic Unmanned Systems, Ministry of Education, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China)

Robotic Intelligence and Automation

ISSN: 2754-6969

Article publication date: 15 July 2024

Issue publication date: 29 August 2024

214

Abstract

Purpose

Bionic flapping-wing aerial vehicles (FWAVs) mimic natural flyers to generate the lift and thrust, such as birds, bats and insects. As an important component of the FWAVs, the flapping wings are crucial for the flight performance. The aim of this paper is to study the effects of different wings on aerodynamic performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Inspired by the wings structure of birds, the authors design four cambered wings to analyze the effect of airfoils on the FWAVs aerodynamic performance. The authors design the motor-driven mechanism of flapping wings, and realize the control of flapping frequency. Combined with the wind tunnel equipment, the authors build the FWAVs force test platform to test the static and dynamic aerodynamic performance of different flapping wings under the state variables of flapping frequency, wind speed and inclined angle.

Findings

The results show that the aerodynamic performance of flapping wing with a camber of 20 mm is the best. Compared with flat wing, the average lift can be improved by 59.5%.

Originality/value

Different from the traditional flat wing design of FWAVs, different cambered flapping wings are given in this paper. The influence of airfoils on aerodynamic performance of FWAVs is analyzed and the optimal flapping wing is obtained.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was supported in part by Science, Technology & Innovation Project of Xiongan New Area under Grant 2023XAGG0062; in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (under Grants U2013201, 62225304, 62373045).

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Citation

Zhao, M., He, W., He, X., Zhang, L. and Zhao, H. (2024), "Design and performance analysis of different cambered wings for flapping-wing aerial vehicles based on wind tunnel test", Robotic Intelligence and Automation, Vol. 44 No. 5, pp. 698-712. https://doi.org/10.1108/RIA-01-2024-0006

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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