Fluid Force and PIV Measurements around a Flapping Elliptical Wing

Abstract

Recently, various studies of Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) and Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) have been reported from wide range points of view. The aim of this study is to research the aerodynamic improvement of a flapping wing in low Reynold's number region to develop an applicative these air vehicle. The six kinds of elliptical wings made of stainless steel are used in the flapping wing. The effects of flapping amplitude and wing configuration regarding the aerodynamic characteristics are investigated in detail. The fluid force measurement by six component load cell and PIV analysis are performed as the experimental method. In the flapping wing experiment, the simultaneous measuring of the fluid force measurement and PIV analysis is tried by using the trigger signal from the encoder attached to the flapping model. The relations between the aerodynamic superiority and the vortex behavior around the models are demonstrated.