Design and Analysis of a Bio-Inspired Warping Tail for MAV Applications

Abstract

This paper examines a unique method of flight control for flapping wing micro air vehicles. Instead of employing rigid body joints and flaps for torsional agility, the technique implemented a compliant tail mechanism. The bio-inspired technique utilizes a flexible carbon fiber (CF) tail to mimic body posture changes of insects, specifically lateral abdomen deflections. This method of flight control was examined using Flytech's WowWee Dragonfly as an experimental platform. Trajectory analysis was done to generate a three dimensional flight path of the vehicle for examining flight characteristics. ANSYS FLUENT fluid dynamics software with GAMBIT and Solidworks CAD software were utilized to investigate aerodynamic torques and gravitational torques corresponding to active tail warping. The results provided evidences suggesting that the warping tail administered adequate control authority for basic maneuvering.