Membrane Micro Air Vehicles with Adaptive Aerodynamic Twist: Numerical Modeling
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 2
Abstract
Micro air vehicles are typically characterized by a low aspect ratio wing operating at low Reynolds numbers : aerodynamics involve a three-dimensional flow field with numerous regions of separated flow. Furthermore, aerodynamic twist can be built into the wing through the use of a thin membrane skin, to adaptively increase the wing camber. This work formulates a static aeroelastic model of such a wing, by coupling a linear membrane model to a well-validated steady laminar Navier–Stokes solver. The membrane deformation causes a significant pressure redistribution which increases lift and longitudinal static stability, though a drag penalty also develops. The efficiency of a rigid wing increases with Reynolds number, but decreases for a membrane wing, as the deformation generally provides a nonoptimal airfoil shape. Membrane deformation leads to larger separation bubbles, and acts as a barrier to the tip vortex formation. At high angles of attack, the aerodynamic twist causes a direct interaction between the recirculating flow and the tip vortices, indicating potential roll instabilities.
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Acknowledgments
This work was jointly supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under MURI Program No. UNSPECIFIEDF49620-03-1-0381. The writers would also like to acknowledge the computing resources provided by Dr. Wei Shyy at the University of Michigan, and the contributions of Dr. Dragos Viieru at the University of Florida.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 2 • April 2009
Pages: 173 - 184
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2007
Accepted: Mar 31, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
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