Numerical Methods for the Aeromechanical Design of Flapping Wing Hovering MAVs

摘要

While the majority of VTOL UAV work has focused on rotary wing concepts, important roles are possible for flapping wing vehicles, particularly for Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) designs. This paper will discuss recent work directed at advancing the fundamental understanding of flapping wing aeromechanics, with the ultimate goal of developing aerodynamic models for simulation and design of hovering MAVs. This work has involved assessment and demonstration of several methods for exploring unsteady, low Reynolds number mechanisms appropriate for sustaining flapping wing flight in gusty environments. A key focus of ongoing effort is to define the relationship between wir.g kinematics, flow phenomena, and unsteady aerodynamic loads via application of a suite of computational modeling tools for complex vortex-dominated flows at low to moderate Re. The discussion here presents both assessment and validation of candidate Lagrangian and Eulerian modeling methods for addressing this class of problems.