Performance evaluation of the pixel wing model for the insect wing's camber

Abstract

In insect flapping wings, the camber deformation is caused by the aerodynamic forces. Since the camber will improve the aerodynamic performance of Flapping Wing Nano Air Vehicles (FWNAVs), it is important to elucidate the passive mechanism of the cambering. The pixel wing model consisting of a structured mesh using shell elements that can simulate the camber deformation caused by the fluid-structure interaction has been proposed for the purpose of computational efficiency. In this study, the performance of the pixel wing model is evaluated as the pixel model resolution is changed. The minimum pixel model resolution is determined such that it can keep enough magnitude of camber compared to actual insects. Furthermore, it is found that the cambering of the pixel wing model can be effectively changed using the wing's chord-wise flexural stiffness given by the root vein pixels and the thickness of the wing membrane pixels.

Computational Approach for the Fluid-Structure Interaction Design of Insect-Inspired Micro Flapping Wings

“…It seems that there exist two approaches for modeling these structures [51]. One is the reduced-order modeling [26,27,29,32,[52][53][54], and the other is the realistic modeling [55][56][57].…”

“…In Reference [29], the continuous constitutive relationship like anisotropic materials is used. In References [52][53][54], the structural elements such as beam, membrane, and shell are used. The reduced-order modeling can be incorporated in the computational FSI analysis using the current computer resources [26,27,29,32].…”

“…The basic model wing for the FSI design is shown in Figure 1, where the spring for the torsion corresponds to the torsional flexibility that generates the wing's pitching motion [26,29], the spring for the elevation corresponds to the elevation flexibility that generates the wing's tip path [32], and the spring for the flapping corresponds to the transmission for the wing's flapping. Furthermore, the veins are represented by three beams according to their functions to form the camber [52][53][54]. This model wing emulates the characteristic wing's motions with their elastic mechanisms and leads to the engineering alternatives to the nature's solution.…”

“…It seems that there exist two approaches for modeling these structures [51]. One is the reduced-order modeling [26,27,29,32,[52][53][54], and the other is the realistic modeling [55][56][57]. In References [26,29,32], the lumped flexibility model is used, where the spring encapsulates the detailed structures as the macroscopic constitutive relationship that describes their elastic mechanism.…”