Investigation of electrostriction appliance and its application for bionics flapping aircraft

摘要

A novel design for an electrostriction appliance derived from the theory and application of electromagnetics is presented. The working principle, that is the application of gravitation and elasticity together to realize the "shrinking" and "extending" effect from the distortion and transforming power into mechanical energy, is briefly explained. The characteristic parameter relationships are established and the experimental research is performed. Experimental results show that this sort of electrostriction appliance can perform well as regards driving force and beeline displacement, and furthermore, its self-weight is smaller. This makes it suitable for beeline drivers with a high application value, especially for the driver of the bionic appliance. In the application of the electrostriction appliance to a bionics-flapping aircraft, the wings can work with a flapping angle in the range of a certain value by controlling the "shrinking" and "extending" of the electrostriction appliance. It can reduce the startup power and the impact load of the driver. The flapping extent of the wings will change when the voltage which is put into the electrostriction appliance varies. This makes it more flexible as the bionics-flapping aircraft realizes different actions of flying.