Experimental Study on the Wing Parameter Optimization of Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on the Clap-and-Fling Mechanism

Li, Qian; Ji, Aihong; Shen, Huan; Li, Renshu; Liu, Kun; Zheng, Xiang; Shen, Lida; Han, Qingfei

doi:10.1007/s42405-022-00445-8

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The geometry and manufacturing process of the wings of the flapping-wing mechanism are described in Ref. [ 44 ]. The rigid leading edge and root rods ensure the stability of the flexible wing, enabling the shape and camber of the wing to change passively, similar to the wings of insects during flapping [ 45 , 46 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Aerial–Wall Robotic Insect That Can Land, Climb, and Take Off from Vertical Surfaces

Shen

et al. 2023

Research

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Insects that can perform flapping-wing flight, climb on a wall, and switch smoothly between the 2 locomotion regimes provide us with excellent biomimetic models. However, very few biomimetic robots can perform complex locomotion tasks that combine the 2 abilities of climbing and flying. Here, we describe an aerial–wall amphibious robot that is self-contained for flying and climbing, and that can seamlessly move between the air and wall. It adopts a flapping/rotor hybrid power layout, which realizes not only efficient and controllable flight in the air but also attachment to, and climbing on, the vertical wall through a synergistic combination of the aerodynamic negative pressure adsorption of the rotor power and a climbing mechanism with bionic adhesion performance. On the basis of the attachment mechanism of insect foot pads, the prepared biomimetic adhesive materials of the robot can be applied to various types of wall surfaces to achieve stable climbing. The longitudinal axis layout design of the rotor dynamics and control strategy realize a unique cross-domain movement during the flying–climbing transition, which has important implications in understanding the takeoff and landing of insects. Moreover, it enables the robot to cross the air–wall boundary in 0.4 s (landing), and cross the wall–air boundary in 0.7 s (taking off). The aerial–wall amphibious robot expands the working space of traditional flying and climbing robots, which can pave the way for future robots that can perform autonomous visual monitoring, human search and rescue, and tracking tasks in complex air–wall environments.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Aerial–Wall Robotic Insect That Can Land, Climb, and Take Off from Vertical Surfaces

Shen

et al. 2023

Research

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“…Substituting Equation (20) into Equation (19), the constraint relationship between motor torque and gear ratio can be obtained according to the constraints.…”

Section: Selection Gear Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…T m = (I − 0.9) × 0.00318 (24) By substituting Equations ( 14), (20), and (24) into Equation ( 23), the efficiency of the motor can be obtained.…”

Section: Wind Tunnel Experiments the Flight Test Prototypementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, in order to improve the speed of bio-inspired flapping wing aircraft, most researchers focus on optimizing the wing design to increase the aircraft's thrust and, consequently, its flight speed. Li et al [20] studied the effect of wing parameters on aerodynamic forces and used an optimized wing design to construct a 30 g flapping wing aircraft, which underwent outdoor flight testing. The aircraft was able to fly for 6.5 min with a flapping-wing aircraft developed by Harvard University in the United States, is about 1 m/s, while the flight speed of bees in nature is approximately 6 m/s [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Research on Improvement Methods for Driven System of Bio-Inspired Aircraft to Increase Flight Speed

Xue,

Li,

Liu

2024

Drones

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The flapping-wing ornithopter is an aircraft that imitates the flight of birds in nature. It has significant potential and value in various fields such as surveying, search and rescue, military reconnaissance, and unmanned warfare, due to its biomimetic stealth and high efficiency in low Reynolds number flight. However, the cruising speed of current flapping-wing ornithopters is generally lower than that of birds of the same size, which seriously affects biomimicry, mission capability, and wind resistance. Increasing the cruising speed can make the aircraft fly more like a bird, improve the efficiency of reconnaissance missions and wind resistance per unit time, and has important research significance. However, the methods to increase the cruising speed of flapping-wing ornithopters are currently lacking. Firstly, this paper presents improvements to the propulsion system based on the team’s “Dove” aircraft to meet the speed requirements. The actual flapping frequency and rocking arm end torque of the “Dove” aircraft under different voltages are tested. To select and match the motor and gearbox in the propulsion system, a method for matching and selection among the motor, gearbox, and load is proposed. Finally, wind tunnel experiments and flight validations are conducted on the improved flight prototype. The wind tunnel experiments show that the increase in flapping frequency has a significant impact on thrust. The trimmed states at different speeds are obtained. The flight validation demonstrates the sustained high-speed flight capability of the aircraft. At a flapping frequency of approximately 15 Hz, the average flight speed of the aircraft is 13.3 m/s within a 15 min duration, which is close to the actual flight speed of pigeons. The duration of high-speed flight is tripled compared to the initial duration. The speed improvement successfully enhances the biomimicry and efficiency of reconnaissance missions per unit time for the aircraft.

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“…A flapping-wing mechanism exerts periodic oscillatory lift force which is produced by wings. The actuation could be generated by direct current (DC) or brushless motors plus a crank-and-gear mechanism [14,18,19]; it could be produced by servo motors [22], clap-and-fling mechanism [23], or by elastic actuation based on an inverted-cam mechanical mechanism [24]. Regardless of actuation type, the periodic transferred base-excitation force should be controlled [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equivalent Vertical Dynamics of Flapping-Wing Flying Robot in Regulation Control: Displacement Transmissibility Ratio

Nekoo

Ollero

2023

2023 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS)

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This paper presents an equivalent dynamic model for vertical regulation control of a flapping-wing flying robot. The model is presented based on the data of a series of flight experiments for an available platform. The system shows oscillations in motion in all experiments with an approximate frequency between [𝟑. 𝟓, 𝟒. 𝟓](𝐇𝐳), changing within a limited range. The behavior of the equivalent model represents a system with base excitation. The displacement transmissibility ratio (TR) is found for the model to investigate the oscillatory behavior in the system during the flight. Reduction of the oscillations through the transmissibility ratio will decrease the uncertainty in flight and consequently, that could increase the success rate of perching on a branch (now it has a 𝟏𝟎 − 𝟏𝟓(𝐜𝐦) uncertain periodic motion); perching needs precision on the last meter approaching phase. An analytical expression for TR is presented which is used for parameter selection, tuning, and selection of the flapping frequency, as the base excitation source.The study shows that the robot works in a proper zone of the frequency ratio, and also, the sensitivity of the TR is high concerning the changes in the stiffness constant.

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Experimental Study on the Wing Parameter Optimization of Flapping-Wing Aircraft Based on the Clap-and-Fling Mechanism

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

An Aerial–Wall Robotic Insect That Can Land, Climb, and Take Off from Vertical Surfaces

An Aerial–Wall Robotic Insect That Can Land, Climb, and Take Off from Vertical Surfaces

Research on Improvement Methods for Driven System of Bio-Inspired Aircraft to Increase Flight Speed

Equivalent Vertical Dynamics of Flapping-Wing Flying Robot in Regulation Control: Displacement Transmissibility Ratio

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