Study on morphing structural system of a flapping wing for high aerodynamic performance

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18284
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Aerospace engineering
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Nagai Hiroto 九州大学, 工学研究院, 助教 (50510674)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 羽ばたき翼 / Micro Aerial Vehicle / モーフィング / 低レイノルズ数 / 非定常流れ / 空力弾性 / 可変キャンバ / 昆虫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we have proposed a morphing flapping wing, which can change the airfoil so as to have an optimal shape at every moment during a flapping cycle. We have developed two types of morphing system: active and passive control of airfoil. The active morphing flapping wing has a hinge connecting fore- and hindwings, which can achieve an appropriate camber in both the up- and downstrokes by actively controlling the hinge angle. The passive morphing system utilizes passive aeroelastic deformation of the flapping wing so that the system can be small size and light weight for the purpose of implementation in micro air vehicles. We experimentally and numerically clarified the effect of the morphing flapping wing on the aerodynamic characteristics and investigated optimal design parameters for high aerodynamic efficiency. The results show that the developed morphing wings successfully achieved an enhancement of lift without an increase of aerodynamic power.

Free Research Field

航空宇宙工学