Dynamic Fluid-Structure Coupling Method of Flexible Flapping Wing for MAV
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28, Issue 6
Abstract
This paper presents a numerical method to simulate the dynamic interaction between the structural deformation and the aerodynamic characteristics of flexible flapping wing for micro air vehicle (MAV). A fluid-structure coupling solver is developed based on the Navier-Stokes equations and the structural dynamic equations. In addition, the interface data exchange method based on the radial basis function and the moving mesh generation method based on the infinite interpolation are applied, which play an important role in the coupling research. The preceding method is validated by comparison with the wind tunnel experimental results. For the research scope of this article (), the flexible deformation impacts of flapping wing on aerodynamic performance are presented. The simulation results proved that the structural deformation has a significant effect on the aerodynamic forces, especially on the thrust, and the structural deformation is determined by aerodynamic and inertial forces together, but with different impact ratio as the change of flapping frequency. Moreover, the flow details are further investigated to discuss the influence of flexible deformation on the aerodynamics.
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Acknowledgments
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant 11402208, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, grant 310201401JCQ01002.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 28 • Issue 6 • November 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 10, 2013
Accepted: Jan 12, 2015
Published online: Feb 26, 2015
Discussion open until: Jul 26, 2015
Published in print: Nov 1, 2015
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