Flight Characteristics of Flapping Wing Miniature Air Vehicles with "Figure-8" Spherical Motion

Authors

Mohamed B. Trabia, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Woosoon Yim, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Zohaib Parvaiz Rehmat, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Jesse Roll, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

11-13-2010

Publication Title

ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition

Publisher

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

First page number:

293

Last page number:

300

Abstract

Hummingbirds and some insects exhibit “Figure-8” flapping motion that allows them to go through a variety of maneuvers including hovering. Understanding the flight characteristics of Figure-8 flapping motion can potentially yield the foundation of flapping wing UAVs that can experience similar maneuverability. In this paper, a mathematical model of the dynamic and aerodynamic forces associated with Figure-8 motion generated by a spherical four bar mechanism is developed. For validation, a FWMAV prototype with the wing attached to a coupler point and driven by a DC servo motor is created for experimental testing. Wind tunnel testing is conducted to determine the coefficients of flight and the effects of dynamic stall. The wing is driven at speeds up to 12.25 Hz with results compared to that of the model. The results indicate good correlation between mathematical model and experimental prototype.

Keywords

Airplanes – Wings; Birds – Flight; Flight; Drone aircraft

Disciplines

Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics | Controls and Control Theory | Mechanical Engineering | Navigation, Guidance, Control and Dynamics

Language

English

Comments

Conference held: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA, November 13–19, 2009

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

Repository Citation

Trabia, M. B., Yim, W., Rehmat, Z. P., Roll, J. (2010). Flight Characteristics of Flapping Wing Miniature Air Vehicles with "Figure-8" Spherical Motion. ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition 293-300. American Society of Mechanical Engineers.