仿生工程学报 ›› 2018, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (2): 298-312.doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-018-0023-y

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

Unsteady Aerodynamic Forces and Power Consumption of a Micro Flapping Rotary Wing in Hovering Flight

Chao Zhou, Yanlai Zhang, Jianghao Wu*   

  1. School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 收稿日期:2017-09-04 修回日期:2017-10-11 出版日期:2018-03-10 发布日期:2017-10-11
  • 通讯作者: Jianghao Wu E-mail:buaawjh@buaa.edu.cn
  • 作者简介:Chao Zhou, Yanlai Zhang, Jianghao Wu*

Unsteady Aerodynamic Forces and Power Consumption of a Micro Flapping Rotary Wing in Hovering Flight

Chao Zhou, Yanlai Zhang, Jianghao Wu*   

  1. School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2017-09-04 Revised:2017-10-11 Online:2018-03-10 Published:2017-10-11
  • Contact: Jianghao Wu E-mail:buaawjh@buaa.edu.cn
  • About author:Chao Zhou, Yanlai Zhang, Jianghao Wu*

摘要: The micro Flapping Rotary Wing (FRW) concept inspired by insects was proposed recently. Its aerodynamic performance is highly related to wing pitching and rotational motions. Therefore, the effect of wing pitching kinematics and rotational speed on unsteady aerodynamic forces and power consumption of a FRW in hovering flight is further studied in this paper using computational fluid dy-namics method. Considering a fixed pitching amplitude (i.e., 80?), the vertical force of FRW increases with the downstroke angle of attack and is enhanced by high wing rotational speed. However, a high downstroke angle of attack is not beneficial for acquiring high rotational speed, in which peak vertical force at balance status (i.e., average rotational moment equals zero.) is only acquired at a comparatively small negative downstroke angle of attack. The releasing constraint of pitching amplitude, high rotational speed and enhanced balanced vertical force can be acquired by selecting small pitching amplitude despite high power consumption. To confirm which wing layout is more power efficient for a certain vertical force requirement, the power consumed by FRW is compared with the Rotary Wing (RW) and the Flapping Wing (FW) while considering two angle of attack strategies without the Reynolds number (Re) constraint. FRW and RW are the most power efficient layouts when the target vertical force is produced at an angle of attack that corresponds to the maximum vertical force coefficient and power efficiency, respectively. However, RW is the most power efficient layout overall despite its insufficient vertical force production capability under a certain Re.

关键词: micro air vehicle, aerodynamic forces, computational fluid dynamics, flapping rotary wing, power consumption

Abstract: The micro Flapping Rotary Wing (FRW) concept inspired by insects was proposed recently. Its aerodynamic performance is highly related to wing pitching and rotational motions. Therefore, the effect of wing pitching kinematics and rotational speed on unsteady aerodynamic forces and power consumption of a FRW in hovering flight is further studied in this paper using computational fluid dy-namics method. Considering a fixed pitching amplitude (i.e., 80?), the vertical force of FRW increases with the downstroke angle of attack and is enhanced by high wing rotational speed. However, a high downstroke angle of attack is not beneficial for acquiring high rotational speed, in which peak vertical force at balance status (i.e., average rotational moment equals zero.) is only acquired at a comparatively small negative downstroke angle of attack. The releasing constraint of pitching amplitude, high rotational speed and enhanced balanced vertical force can be acquired by selecting small pitching amplitude despite high power consumption. To confirm which wing layout is more power efficient for a certain vertical force requirement, the power consumed by FRW is compared with the Rotary Wing (RW) and the Flapping Wing (FW) while considering two angle of attack strategies without the Reynolds number (Re) constraint. FRW and RW are the most power efficient layouts when the target vertical force is produced at an angle of attack that corresponds to the maximum vertical force coefficient and power efficiency, respectively. However, RW is the most power efficient layout overall despite its insufficient vertical force production capability under a certain Re.

Key words: flapping rotary wing, aerodynamic forces, micro air vehicle, computational fluid dynamics, power consumption