Systems-Level Analysis of Resonant Mechanisms for Flapping-Wing Flyers

This paper explores the energetics, efficiency, and performance of flapping-wing actuation. The system-level consequences of energy-saving resonant mechanisms across the full flight envelope of hover, maneuver, and glide of flapping-wing systems is analyzed. A review of the extent to which resonant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aircraft 2014-11, Vol.51 (6), p.1833-1841
Main Authors: Kok, J. M, Chahl, J. S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuation
Aerodynamics
Aeroelasticity
Aircraft
Design factors
Elastic limit
Energy
Engineering schools
Flapping wings
Flight envelopes
Frequencies
Harmonic oscillators
Insects
Micro air vehicles (MAV)
Numerical analysis
R&D
Research & development
Resonance
Systems analysis
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Velocity
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Summary:This paper explores the energetics, efficiency, and performance of flapping-wing actuation. The system-level consequences of energy-saving resonant mechanisms across the full flight envelope of hover, maneuver, and glide of flapping-wing systems is analyzed. A review of the extent to which resonant mechanisms are employed in a dragonfly and how useful they are to a maneuvering flapping-wing micro air vehicle system shows that the value of resonance is limited. It is shown that employing resonant elastic mechanisms in real-world configurations on an aerodynamically efficient flyer could produce insignificant energy savings. This number is further reduced by at least 14% across the operational flapping frequency band of a dragonfly, suggesting that resonance is not the major driver for aerodynamically efficient flyers such as the dragonfly. Using a simple harmonic oscillator as a simplified model, a significant reduction of approximately two to three times in maneuvering limits is demonstrated for a system employing elastic elements. In systems with elastic storage, aeroelastic instabilities leading to reductions in maximum glide speed are possible, especially for aerodynamically dominated systems. It is concluded that the system-level cost of implementing resonant mechanisms indicates against resonance in hover being a primary factor in the design of a dragonfly or dragonfly-inspired aircraft.
ISSN:0021-8669
1533-3868
DOI:10.2514/1.C032515