The effect of the wake of previous strokes on the aerodynamic forces of a flapping model insect wing is studied using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The wake effect is isolated by comparing the forces and...The effect of the wake of previous strokes on the aerodynamic forces of a flapping model insect wing is studied using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The wake effect is isolated by comparing the forces and flows of the starting stroke （when the wake has not developed） with those of a later stroke （when the wake has developed）. The following has been shown. （1） The wake effect may increase or decrease the lift and drag at the beginning of a half-stroke （downstroke or upstroke）, depending on the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. The reason for this is that at the beginning of the half-stroke, the wing “impinges” on the spanwise vorticity generated by the wing during stroke reversal and the distribution of the vorticity is sensitive to the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. （2） The wake effect decreases the lift and increases the drag in the rest part of the half-stroke. This is because the wing moves in a downwash field induced by previous half-stroke＇s starting vortex, tip vortices and attached leading edge vortex （these vortices form a downwash producing vortex ring）. （3） The wake effect decreases the mean lift by 6%-18% （depending on wing kinematics at stroke reversal） and slightly increases the mean drag. Therefore, it is detrimental to the aerodynamic performance of the flapping wing.展开更多
To calculate the aerodynamics of flapping-wing micro air vehicle（MAV） with the high efficiency and the engineering-oriented accuracy,an improved unsteady vortex lattice method （UVLM） for MAV is proposed. The metho...To calculate the aerodynamics of flapping-wing micro air vehicle（MAV） with the high efficiency and the engineering-oriented accuracy,an improved unsteady vortex lattice method （UVLM） for MAV is proposed. The method considers the influence of instantaneous wing deforming in flapping,as well as the induced drag,additionally models the stretching and the dissipation of vortex rings,and can present the aerodynamics status on the wing surface. An implementation of the method is developed. Moreover,the results and the efficiency of the proposed method are verified by CFD methods. Considering the less time cost of UVLM,for application of UVLM in the MAV optimization,the influence of wake vortex ignoring time saving and precision is studied. Results show that saving in CPU time with wake vortex ignoring the appropriate distance is considerable while the precision is not significantly reduced. It indicates the potential value of UVLM in the optimization of MAV design.展开更多
Micro air vehicles （MAV＇s） have the potential to revolutionize our sensing and information gathering capabilities in environmental monitoring and homeland security areas. Due to the MAV＇s＇ small size, flight regi...Micro air vehicles （MAV＇s） have the potential to revolutionize our sensing and information gathering capabilities in environmental monitoring and homeland security areas. Due to the MAV＇s＇ small size, flight regime, and modes of operation, significant scientific advancement will be needed to create this revolutionary capability. Aerodynamics, structural dynamics, and flight dynamics of natural flyers intersects with some of the richest problems in MAV＇s, inclu- ding massively unsteady three-dimensional separation, transition in boundary layers and shear layers, vortical flows and bluff body flows, unsteady flight environment, aeroelasticity, and nonlinear and adaptive control are just a few examples. A challenge is that the scaling of both fluid dynamics and structural dynamics between smaller natural flyer and practical flying hardware/lab experiment （larger dimension） is fundamentally difficult. In this paper, we offer an overview of the challenges and issues, along with sample results illustrating some of the efforts made from a computational modeling angle.展开更多
The time courses of wing and body kinematics of two free-flying drone-flies, as they performed saccades, were measured using 3D high-speed video, and the morpho- logical parameters of the wings and body of the insects...The time courses of wing and body kinematics of two free-flying drone-flies, as they performed saccades, were measured using 3D high-speed video, and the morpho- logical parameters of the wings and body of the insects were also measured. The measured wing kinematics was used in a Navier-Stokes solver to compute the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the insects. The main results are as following. （1） The turn is mainly a 90° change of heading. It is made in about 10 wingbeats （about 55 ms）. It is of interest to note that the number of wingbeats taken to make the turn is approximately the same as and the turning time is only a little different from that of fruitflies measured recently by the same approach, even if the weight of the droneflies is more than 100 times larger than that of the fruitflies. The long axis of body is about 40° from the horizontal during the maneuver. （2） Although the body rotation is mainly about a vertical axis, a relatively large moment around the yaw axis （axis perpendicular to the long axis of body）, called as yaw moment, is mainly needed for the turn, because moment of inertial of the body about the yaw axis is much larger than that about the long axis. （3） The yaw moment is mainly pro- duced by changes in wing angles of attack： in a right turn, for example, the dronefly lets its right wing to have a rather large angle of attack in the downstroke （generally larger than 50°） and a small one in the upstroke to start the turn, and lets its left wing to do so to stop the turn, unlike the fruitflies who generate the yaw moment mainly by changes in the stroke plane and stroke amplitude.展开更多
The aerodynamics of 2-dimensional flexible wings in bees＇ normal hovering flight is studied. Four insect flapping flight coordinate systems, including a global system, a bodyfixed system, a rigid wing-fixed system an...The aerodynamics of 2-dimensional flexible wings in bees＇ normal hovering flight is studied. Four insect flapping flight coordinate systems, including a global system, a bodyfixed system, a rigid wing-fixed system and a flexible wingfixed system, are established to represent the insects＇ position, gesture, wing movement and wing deformation, respectively. Then the transformations among four coordinate systems are studied. It is found that the elliptic coordinate system can improve the computation accuracy and reduce the calculation complexity in a 2-dimensional rigid wing. The computation model of a 2-dimensional flexible wing is established, and the changes of the force, moment, and power are investigated. According to the computation results, the large lift and drag peaks at the beginning and end of the stroke can be explained by the superposition of the rapid translational acceleration, the fast pitching-up rotation and the Magnus effect; and the small force and drag peaks can be explained by the convex flow effect and the concave flow effect. Compared with the pressure force, pressure moment and translational power, the viscous force, viscous moment and rotational power are small and can be ignored.展开更多
The tip vortices and aerodynamics of a NACA0012 wing in the vicinity of the ground were studied in a wind tunnel.The wing tip vortex structures and lift/drag forces were measured by a seven-hole probe and a force bala...The tip vortices and aerodynamics of a NACA0012 wing in the vicinity of the ground were studied in a wind tunnel.The wing tip vortex structures and lift/drag forces were measured by a seven-hole probe and a force balance,respectively.The evolution of the flow structures and aerodynamics with a ground height were analyzed.The vorticity of tip vortices was found to reduce with the decreasing of the ground height,and the position of vortex-core moved gradually to the outboard of the wing tip.Therefore,the down-wash flow induced by the tip vortices was weakened. However,vortex breakdown occurred as the wing lowered to the ground.From the experimental results of aerodynamics,the maximum lift-to-drag ratio was observed when the angle of attack was 2.5°and the ground clearance was 0.2.展开更多
Morphology as well as kinematics is a critical determinant of performance in flapping flight.To understand the effects of the structural traits on aerodynamics of bioflyers,three rectangular wings with aspect ratios...Morphology as well as kinematics is a critical determinant of performance in flapping flight.To understand the effects of the structural traits on aerodynamics of bioflyers,three rectangular wings with aspect ratios（AR）of1,2,and 4 performing hovering-like sinusoidal kinematics at wingtip based Reynolds number of 5 300 are experimentally investigated.Flow structures on sectional cuts along the wing span are compared.Stronger K-H instability is found on the leading edge vortex of wings with higher aspect ratios.Vortex bursting only appears on the outer spanwise locations of high-aspect-ratio wings.The vortex bursting on high-aspect-ratio wings is perhaps one of the reasons why bio-flyers normally have low-aspect-ratio wings.Quantitative analysis exhibits larger dimensionless circulation of the leading edge vortex（LEV）over higher aspect ratio wings except when vortex bursting happens.The average dimensionless circulation of AR1 and AR2 along the span almost equals the dimensionless circulation at the 50%span.The flow structure and the circulation analysis show that the sinusoidal kinematics suppresses breakdown of the LEV compared with simplified flapping kinematics used in similar studies.The Reynolds number effect results on AR4 show that in the current Re range,the overall flow structure is not sensitive to Reynolds number.展开更多
Conventional wing aerodynamic optimization processes can be time-consuming and imprecise due to the complexity of versatile flight missions.Plenty of existing literature has considered two-dimensional infinite airfoil...Conventional wing aerodynamic optimization processes can be time-consuming and imprecise due to the complexity of versatile flight missions.Plenty of existing literature has considered two-dimensional infinite airfoil optimization,while three-dimensional finite wing optimizations are subject to limited study because of high computational costs.Here we create an adaptive optimization methodology built upon digitized wing shape deformation and deep learning algorithms,which enable the rapid formulation of finite wing designs for specific aerodynamic performance demands under different cruise conditions.This methodology unfolds in three stages:radial basis function interpolated wing generation,collection of inputs from computational fluid dynamics simulations,and deep neural network that constructs the surrogate model for the optimal wing configuration.It has been demonstrated that the proposed methodology can significantly reduce the computational cost of numerical simulations.It also has the potential to optimize various aerial vehicles undergoing different mission environments,loading conditions,and safety requirements.展开更多
During a dive peregrine falcons can reach velocities of more than 320 km/h and makes themselves the fastest animals in the world. The aerodynamic mechanisms involved are not fully understood yet and the search for a c...During a dive peregrine falcons can reach velocities of more than 320 km/h and makes themselves the fastest animals in the world. The aerodynamic mechanisms involved are not fully understood yet and the search for a conclusive answer to this fact motivates the three-dimensional (3-D) flow study. Especially the cupped wing configuration which is a unique feature of the wing shape in falcon peregrine dive is our focus herein. In particular, the flow in the gap between the main body and the cupped wing is studied to understand how this flow interacts with the body and to what extend it affects the integral forces of lift and drag. Characteristic shapes of the wings while diving are studied with regard to their aerodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results of the numerical simulations via ICEM CFD and OpenFOAM show predominant flow structures around the body surface and in the wake of the falcon model such as a pair of body vortices and tip vortices. The drag for the cupped wing profile is reduced in relation to the configuration of opened wings (without cupped-like profile) while lift is increased. The purpose of this study is primarily the basic research of the aerodynamic mechanisms during the falcon’s diving flight. The results could be important for maintaining good maneuverability at high speeds in the aviation sector.展开更多
The effects of corrugation and wing planform （shape and aspect ratio） on the aerodynamic force production of model insect wings in sweeping （rotating after an initial start） motion at Reynolds number 200 and 3500 ...The effects of corrugation and wing planform （shape and aspect ratio） on the aerodynamic force production of model insect wings in sweeping （rotating after an initial start） motion at Reynolds number 200 and 3500 at angle of attack 40℃ are investigated, using the method of computational fluid dynamics. A representative wing corrugation is considered. Wing-shape and aspect ratio （AR） of ten representative insect wings are considered; they are the wings of fruit fly, cranefly, dronefly, hoverfly, ladybird, bumblebee, honeybee, lacewing （forewing）, hawkmoth and dragon- fly （forewing）, respectively （AR of these wings varies greatly, from 2.84 to 5.45）. The following facts are shown. （1） The corrugated and flat-plate wings produce approximately the same aerodynamic forces. This is because for a sweeping wing at large angle of attack, the length scale of the corrugation is much smaller than the size of the separated flow region or the size of the leading edge vortex （LEV）. （2） The variation in wing shape can have considerable effects on the aerodynamic force; but it has only minor effects on the force coefficients when the velocity at r2 （the radius of the second ：moment of wing area） is used as the reference velocity; i.e. the force coefficients are almost unaffected by the variation in wing shape. （3） The effects of AR are remarkably small： whenAR increases from 2.8 to 5.5, the force coefficients vary only slightly; flowfield results show that when AR is relatively large, the part of the LEV on the outer part of the wings sheds during the sweeping motion. As AR is increased, on one hand, the force coefficients will be increased due to the reduction of 3-dimensional flow effects; on the other hand, they will be decreased due to the shedding of part of the LEV; these two effects approximately cancel each other, resulting in only minor change of the force coefficients.展开更多
We have examined the aerodynamic effects of corrugation in model wings that closely mimic the wing movements of a forward flight bumblebee using the method of computational fluid dynamics. Various corrugated wing mode...We have examined the aerodynamic effects of corrugation in model wings that closely mimic the wing movements of a forward flight bumblebee using the method of computational fluid dynamics. Various corrugated wing models were tested （care was taken to ensure that the corrugation introduced zero camber）. Advance ratio ranging from 0 to 0.57 was considered. The results shown that at all flight speeds considered, the time courses of aerodynamic force of the corrugated wing are very close to those of the flat-plate wing. The cornlgation decreases aerodynamic force slightly. The changes in the mean location of center of pressure in the spanwise and chordwise directions resulting from the corrugation are no more than 3% of the wing chord length. The possible reason for the small aerodynamic effects of wing corrugation is that the wing operates at a large angle of attack and the flow is separated： the large angle of incidence dominates the corrugation in determining the flow around the wing, and for separated flow, the flow is much less sensitive to wing shape variation.展开更多
The aerodynamic mechanism of the bat wing membrane Mong the lateral border of its body is studied. The twist-morphing that alters the angle of attack （AOA） along the span-wise direction is observed widely during bat...The aerodynamic mechanism of the bat wing membrane Mong the lateral border of its body is studied. The twist-morphing that alters the angle of attack （AOA） along the span-wise direction is observed widely during bat flapping flight. An assumption is made that the linearly distributed AOA is along the span-wise direction. The plate with the aspect ratio of 3 is used to model a bat wing. A three-dimensional （3D） unsteady panel method is used to predict the aerodynamic forces generated by the flapping plate with leading edge separation. It is found that, relative to the rigid wing flapping, twisting motion can increase the averaged lift by as much as 25% and produce thrust instead of drag. Furthermore, the aerodynamic forces （lift/drag） generated by a twisting plate-wing are similar to those of a pitching rigid-wing, meaning that the twisting in bat flight has the same function as the supination/pronation motion in insect flight.展开更多
Effects of unsteady deformation of a＇flapping model insect wing on its aerodynamic force production are studied by solving the Navier-Stokes equations on a dynamically deforming grid. Aerodynamic forces on the flappi...Effects of unsteady deformation of a＇flapping model insect wing on its aerodynamic force production are studied by solving the Navier-Stokes equations on a dynamically deforming grid. Aerodynamic forces on the flapping wing are not much affected by considerable twist, but affected by camber deformation. The effect of combined camber and twist deformation is similar to that of camber deformation. With a deformation of 6% camber and 20% twist （typical values observed for wings of many insects）, lift is increased by 10% - 20% and lift-to-drag ratio by around 10% compared with the case of a rigid fiat-plate wing. As a result, the deformation can increase the maximum lift coefficient of an insect, and reduce its power requirement for flight. For example, for a hovering bumblebee with dynamically deforming wings （6% camber and 20% twist）, aerodynamic power required is reduced by about 16% compared with the case of rigid wings.展开更多
Determination of the aerodynamic configuration of wake is the key to analysis and evaluation of the rotor aerodynamic characteristics of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. According to the aerodynamic configuration, the ...Determination of the aerodynamic configuration of wake is the key to analysis and evaluation of the rotor aerodynamic characteristics of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. According to the aerodynamic configuration, the real magnitude and direction of the onflow velocity at the rotor blade can be determined, and subsequently, the aerodynamic force on the rotor can be determined. The commonly employed wake aerodynamic models are of the cylindrical form instead of the actual expanding one. This is because the influence of the radial component of the induced velocity on the wake configuration is neglected. Therefore, this model should be called a "linear model". Using this model means that the induced velocities at the rotor blades and aerodynamic loads on them would be inexact. An approximately accurate approach is proposed in this paper to determine the so-called "nonlinear" wake aerodynamic configuration by means of the potential theory, where the influence of all three coordinate components of the induced velocity on wake aerodynamic configuration is taken into account to obtain a kind of expanding wake that approximately looks like an actual one. First, the rotor aerodynamic model composed of axial (central), bound, and trailing vortexes is established with the help of the finite aspect wing theory. Then, the Biot-Savart formula for the potential flow theory is used to derive a set of integral equations to evaluate the three components of the induced velocity at any point within the wake. The numerical solution to the integral equations is found, and the loci of all elementary trailing vortex filaments behind the rotor are determined thereafter. Finally, to formulate an actual wind turbine rotor, using the nonlinear wake model, the induced velocity everywhere in the wake, especially that at the rotor blade, is obtained in the case of various tip speed ratios and compared with the wake boundary in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer. Hereby, some useful and referential conclusions are offered for the aerodynamic computation and design of the rotor of the horizontal-axis wind turbine.展开更多
The broad implication of the paper is to elucidate the significance of the dynamic heaving motion in the aerodynamic performance of multi-element wings,currently considered as a promising aspect for the improvement of...The broad implication of the paper is to elucidate the significance of the dynamic heaving motion in the aerodynamic performance of multi-element wings,currently considered as a promising aspect for the improvement of the aerodynamic correlation between CFD,wind tunnel and track testing in race car applications.The relationship between the varying aerodynamic forces,the vortex shedding,and the unsteady pressure field of a heaving double-element wing is investigated for a range of mean ride heights,frequencies,and amplitudes,using a two-dimensional(2D)unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS)approach and an overset mesh method for modelling the moving wing.The analysis of the results shows that at high frequencies,i.e.,k≥5.94 and amplitudes a/c≥0.05 the interaction of the shear vorticity between the two elements results in the generation of cohering leading and trailing edge vortices on the flap,associated to the rapid variation of thrust and downforce enhancement.Both the occurrence and intensity of these vortices are dependent upon the frequency,amplitude,and mean ride height of the heaving wing.The addition of the flap significantly alters the frequency of the shed vortices in the wake and maintains the generation of downforce for longer time in ground proximity.The comparison with the static wing provides evidence that the dynamic motion of a race car wing can be beneficial in terms of performance,or detrimental in terms of aerodynamic correlation.展开更多
Unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a seagull wing in level flight are investigated using a boundary element method.A new no-penetration boundary condition is imposed on the surface of the wing by considering its ...Unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a seagull wing in level flight are investigated using a boundary element method.A new no-penetration boundary condition is imposed on the surface of the wing by considering its deformation.The geometry and kinematics of the seagull wing are reproduced using the functions and data in the previously published literature.The proposed method is validated by comparing the computed results with the published data in the literature.The unsteady aerodynamics characteristics of the seagull wing are investigated by changing flapping frequency and advance ratio.It is found that the peak values of aerodynamic coefficients increase with the flapping frequency.The thrust and drag generations are complicated functions of frequency and wing stroke motions.The lift is inversely proportional to the advance ratio.The effects of several flapping modes on the lift and induced drag(or thrust)generation are also investigated.Among three single modes(flapping, folding and lead & lag),flapping generates the largest lift and can produce thrust alone.For three combined modes,both flapping/folding and flapping/lead & lag can produce lift and thrust larger than the flapping-alone mode can.Folding is shown to increase thrust when combined with flapping,whereas lead & lag has an effect of increasing the lift when also combined with flapping.When three modes are combined together,the bird can obtain the largest lift among the investigated modes.Even though the proposed method is limited to the inviscid flow assumption,it is believed that this method can be used to the design of flapping micro aerial vehicle.展开更多
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 delta wing...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 delta wing in low Reynold＇s number region to develop an applicative these air vehicle. As an attractive tool in delta wing, leading edge flap （LEF） is employed to directly modify the strength and structure of vortices originating from the separation point along the leading edge. Various configurations of LEF such as drooping apex flap and upward deflected flap are used in combination to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics in the delta wing. The fluid force measurement by six component toad ceil and particle image velocimetry （PIV） analysis are performed as the experimental method. The relations between the aerodynamic superiority and the vortex behavior around the models are demonstrated.展开更多
Changes in flow field around NACA23012 airfoil from a clean condition to a super-cooled large droplet （SLD） condition were simulated, and variations in aerodynamic parameters were calculated using FLUENT. In the cas...Changes in flow field around NACA23012 airfoil from a clean condition to a super-cooled large droplet （SLD） condition were simulated, and variations in aerodynamic parameters were calculated using FLUENT. In the case of numerical simulation for a clean airfoil, flow field characteristics simulated agreed well with theory analysis, indicating that turbulence models and parameters setting are feasible. Aerodynamic parameters for iced airfoil were calculated using the same method and agreed with those measured test data under the same environment in icing wind tunnels by S. Lee. Conclusion is made that the numerical simulation is valid, and it can be an alternative to study ice accretion effects at the SLD condition on airfoil aerodynamics, leading to reduction in research cycle time and cost.展开更多
This study experimentally investigates aerodynamic characteristics and flow fields of a smooth owl-like airfoil without serrations and velvet structures. This biologically inspired airfoil design is intended to serve ...This study experimentally investigates aerodynamic characteristics and flow fields of a smooth owl-like airfoil without serrations and velvet structures. This biologically inspired airfoil design is intended to serve as the main-wing for low-Reynolds-number aircrafts such as micro air vehicles. Reynolds number dependency on aerodynamics is also evaluated at low Reynolds numbers. The results of the study show that the owl-like airfoil has high lift performance with a nonlinear lift increase due to the presence of a separation bubble on the suction side. A distinctive flow feature of the owl airfoil is a separation bubble on the pressure side at low angles of attack. The separation bubble switches location from the pressure side to the suction side as the angle of attack increases and is continuously present on the surface within a wide range of angles of attack. The Reynolds number dependency on the lift curves is insignificant, although differences in the drag curves are especially pronounced at high angles of attack. Eventually, we obtain the geometric feature of the owl-like airfoil to increase aerodynamic performance at low Reynolds numbers.展开更多
The investigation on the aerodynamic characteristics of the high-attitude long-endurance (HALE) Diamond Joined-Wing configuration unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) was carried out by the theoretical analysis method and n...The investigation on the aerodynamic characteristics of the high-attitude long-endurance (HALE) Diamond Joined-Wing configuration unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) was carried out by the theoretical analysis method and numerical simulation. Research indicates that as the wing of the UAV is composed of the front wing and the after wing, the after wing has the ability to transmit the front wing's boundary layer to the after wing root which can inhibit the front wing's flow separation. Although the front wing was affected by the retardation of the after wing, the aerodynamic performance of the front wing was better than that of alone front wing in most cases. The after wing was also affected by the wake and downwash of the front wing, and its aerodynamic performance was greatly decreased. The characteristic curve of the pitching moment of the UAV had nonlinear characteristics. The flow field structure of the after wing changed by the front wing wake direct sweep and flow separation at the after wing root were the main reasons that non-linear ′rise′phenomenon occurred in two segments ( α = 0° and α = 8° ) of the characteristic curve of pitching moment. Moreover, coupling of the flow separation characteristic of the front wing and the after wing resulted in the pitching moment ′pitchup′ phenomenon. The lateral-directional static stability of the flat layout was weak. The HALE Diamond Joined-Wing configuration UAV ' s aerodynamic performance can be improved and the problems in engineering applications can be effectively alleviated by adjusting the overall layout parameters.展开更多
基金The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(10232010)the National Aeronautic Science Fund of China(03A51049)
文摘The effect of the wake of previous strokes on the aerodynamic forces of a flapping model insect wing is studied using the method of computational fluid dynamics. The wake effect is isolated by comparing the forces and flows of the starting stroke （when the wake has not developed） with those of a later stroke （when the wake has developed）. The following has been shown. （1） The wake effect may increase or decrease the lift and drag at the beginning of a half-stroke （downstroke or upstroke）, depending on the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. The reason for this is that at the beginning of the half-stroke, the wing “impinges” on the spanwise vorticity generated by the wing during stroke reversal and the distribution of the vorticity is sensitive to the wing kinematics at stroke reversal. （2） The wake effect decreases the lift and increases the drag in the rest part of the half-stroke. This is because the wing moves in a downwash field induced by previous half-stroke＇s starting vortex, tip vortices and attached leading edge vortex （these vortices form a downwash producing vortex ring）. （3） The wake effect decreases the mean lift by 6%-18% （depending on wing kinematics at stroke reversal） and slightly increases the mean drag. Therefore, it is detrimental to the aerodynamic performance of the flapping wing.
基金Supported by the Aviation Science Foundation of China (2007ZA56001)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(50865009)~~
文摘To calculate the aerodynamics of flapping-wing micro air vehicle（MAV） with the high efficiency and the engineering-oriented accuracy,an improved unsteady vortex lattice method （UVLM） for MAV is proposed. The method considers the influence of instantaneous wing deforming in flapping,as well as the induced drag,additionally models the stretching and the dissipation of vortex rings,and can present the aerodynamics status on the wing surface. An implementation of the method is developed. Moreover,the results and the efficiency of the proposed method are verified by CFD methods. Considering the less time cost of UVLM,for application of UVLM in the MAV optimization,the influence of wake vortex ignoring time saving and precision is studied. Results show that saving in CPU time with wake vortex ignoring the appropriate distance is considerable while the precision is not significantly reduced. It indicates the potential value of UVLM in the optimization of MAV design.
基金a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project sponsored by AFOSR
文摘Micro air vehicles （MAV＇s） have the potential to revolutionize our sensing and information gathering capabilities in environmental monitoring and homeland security areas. Due to the MAV＇s＇ small size, flight regime, and modes of operation, significant scientific advancement will be needed to create this revolutionary capability. Aerodynamics, structural dynamics, and flight dynamics of natural flyers intersects with some of the richest problems in MAV＇s, inclu- ding massively unsteady three-dimensional separation, transition in boundary layers and shear layers, vortical flows and bluff body flows, unsteady flight environment, aeroelasticity, and nonlinear and adaptive control are just a few examples. A challenge is that the scaling of both fluid dynamics and structural dynamics between smaller natural flyer and practical flying hardware/lab experiment （larger dimension） is fundamentally difficult. In this paper, we offer an overview of the challenges and issues, along with sample results illustrating some of the efforts made from a computational modeling angle.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(10732030)the 111 Project(B07009)
文摘The time courses of wing and body kinematics of two free-flying drone-flies, as they performed saccades, were measured using 3D high-speed video, and the morpho- logical parameters of the wings and body of the insects were also measured. The measured wing kinematics was used in a Navier-Stokes solver to compute the aerodynamic forces and moments acting on the insects. The main results are as following. （1） The turn is mainly a 90° change of heading. It is made in about 10 wingbeats （about 55 ms）. It is of interest to note that the number of wingbeats taken to make the turn is approximately the same as and the turning time is only a little different from that of fruitflies measured recently by the same approach, even if the weight of the droneflies is more than 100 times larger than that of the fruitflies. The long axis of body is about 40° from the horizontal during the maneuver. （2） Although the body rotation is mainly about a vertical axis, a relatively large moment around the yaw axis （axis perpendicular to the long axis of body）, called as yaw moment, is mainly needed for the turn, because moment of inertial of the body about the yaw axis is much larger than that about the long axis. （3） The yaw moment is mainly pro- duced by changes in wing angles of attack： in a right turn, for example, the dronefly lets its right wing to have a rather large angle of attack in the downstroke （generally larger than 50°） and a small one in the upstroke to start the turn, and lets its left wing to do so to stop the turn, unlike the fruitflies who generate the yaw moment mainly by changes in the stroke plane and stroke amplitude.
基金The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.3202003905)Scientific Innovation Research of College Graduates in Jiangsu Province(No.CXLX12_0080)
文摘The aerodynamics of 2-dimensional flexible wings in bees＇ normal hovering flight is studied. Four insect flapping flight coordinate systems, including a global system, a bodyfixed system, a rigid wing-fixed system and a flexible wingfixed system, are established to represent the insects＇ position, gesture, wing movement and wing deformation, respectively. Then the transformations among four coordinate systems are studied. It is found that the elliptic coordinate system can improve the computation accuracy and reduce the calculation complexity in a 2-dimensional rigid wing. The computation model of a 2-dimensional flexible wing is established, and the changes of the force, moment, and power are investigated. According to the computation results, the large lift and drag peaks at the beginning and end of the stroke can be explained by the superposition of the rapid translational acceleration, the fast pitching-up rotation and the Magnus effect; and the small force and drag peaks can be explained by the convex flow effect and the concave flow effect. Compared with the pressure force, pressure moment and translational power, the viscous force, viscous moment and rotational power are small and can be ignored.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11072142)Shanghai Program for Innovative Research Team in Universities
文摘The tip vortices and aerodynamics of a NACA0012 wing in the vicinity of the ground were studied in a wind tunnel.The wing tip vortex structures and lift/drag forces were measured by a seven-hole probe and a force balance,respectively.The evolution of the flow structures and aerodynamics with a ground height were analyzed.The vorticity of tip vortices was found to reduce with the decreasing of the ground height,and the position of vortex-core moved gradually to the outboard of the wing tip.Therefore,the down-wash flow induced by the tip vortices was weakened. However,vortex breakdown occurred as the wing lowered to the ground.From the experimental results of aerodynamics,the maximum lift-to-drag ratio was observed when the angle of attack was 2.5°and the ground clearance was 0.2.
基金supported by the Innovation Technology Commission(ITC)of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region(HKSAR)with Project(ITS/115/13FP)Hong Kong Ph.D.Fellowship Scheme from the Research Grants Council(RGC)
文摘Morphology as well as kinematics is a critical determinant of performance in flapping flight.To understand the effects of the structural traits on aerodynamics of bioflyers,three rectangular wings with aspect ratios（AR）of1,2,and 4 performing hovering-like sinusoidal kinematics at wingtip based Reynolds number of 5 300 are experimentally investigated.Flow structures on sectional cuts along the wing span are compared.Stronger K-H instability is found on the leading edge vortex of wings with higher aspect ratios.Vortex bursting only appears on the outer spanwise locations of high-aspect-ratio wings.The vortex bursting on high-aspect-ratio wings is perhaps one of the reasons why bio-flyers normally have low-aspect-ratio wings.Quantitative analysis exhibits larger dimensionless circulation of the leading edge vortex（LEV）over higher aspect ratio wings except when vortex bursting happens.The average dimensionless circulation of AR1 and AR2 along the span almost equals the dimensionless circulation at the 50%span.The flow structure and the circulation analysis show that the sinusoidal kinematics suppresses breakdown of the LEV compared with simplified flapping kinematics used in similar studies.The Reynolds number effect results on AR4 show that in the current Re range,the overall flow structure is not sensitive to Reynolds number.
基金supported by CITRIS and the Banatao Institute,Air Force Office of Scientific Research(Grant No.FA9550-22-1-0420)National Science Foundation(Grant No.ACI-1548562).
文摘Conventional wing aerodynamic optimization processes can be time-consuming and imprecise due to the complexity of versatile flight missions.Plenty of existing literature has considered two-dimensional infinite airfoil optimization,while three-dimensional finite wing optimizations are subject to limited study because of high computational costs.Here we create an adaptive optimization methodology built upon digitized wing shape deformation and deep learning algorithms,which enable the rapid formulation of finite wing designs for specific aerodynamic performance demands under different cruise conditions.This methodology unfolds in three stages:radial basis function interpolated wing generation,collection of inputs from computational fluid dynamics simulations,and deep neural network that constructs the surrogate model for the optimal wing configuration.It has been demonstrated that the proposed methodology can significantly reduce the computational cost of numerical simulations.It also has the potential to optimize various aerial vehicles undergoing different mission environments,loading conditions,and safety requirements.
文摘During a dive peregrine falcons can reach velocities of more than 320 km/h and makes themselves the fastest animals in the world. The aerodynamic mechanisms involved are not fully understood yet and the search for a conclusive answer to this fact motivates the three-dimensional (3-D) flow study. Especially the cupped wing configuration which is a unique feature of the wing shape in falcon peregrine dive is our focus herein. In particular, the flow in the gap between the main body and the cupped wing is studied to understand how this flow interacts with the body and to what extend it affects the integral forces of lift and drag. Characteristic shapes of the wings while diving are studied with regard to their aerodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results of the numerical simulations via ICEM CFD and OpenFOAM show predominant flow structures around the body surface and in the wake of the falcon model such as a pair of body vortices and tip vortices. The drag for the cupped wing profile is reduced in relation to the configuration of opened wings (without cupped-like profile) while lift is increased. The purpose of this study is primarily the basic research of the aerodynamic mechanisms during the falcon’s diving flight. The results could be important for maintaining good maneuverability at high speeds in the aviation sector.
基金The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(10232010 and 10472008)Ph.D.Student Foundation of Chinese Ministry of Education(20030006022)
文摘The effects of corrugation and wing planform （shape and aspect ratio） on the aerodynamic force production of model insect wings in sweeping （rotating after an initial start） motion at Reynolds number 200 and 3500 at angle of attack 40℃ are investigated, using the method of computational fluid dynamics. A representative wing corrugation is considered. Wing-shape and aspect ratio （AR） of ten representative insect wings are considered; they are the wings of fruit fly, cranefly, dronefly, hoverfly, ladybird, bumblebee, honeybee, lacewing （forewing）, hawkmoth and dragon- fly （forewing）, respectively （AR of these wings varies greatly, from 2.84 to 5.45）. The following facts are shown. （1） The corrugated and flat-plate wings produce approximately the same aerodynamic forces. This is because for a sweeping wing at large angle of attack, the length scale of the corrugation is much smaller than the size of the separated flow region or the size of the leading edge vortex （LEV）. （2） The variation in wing shape can have considerable effects on the aerodynamic force; but it has only minor effects on the force coefficients when the velocity at r2 （the radius of the second ：moment of wing area） is used as the reference velocity; i.e. the force coefficients are almost unaffected by the variation in wing shape. （3） The effects of AR are remarkably small： whenAR increases from 2.8 to 5.5, the force coefficients vary only slightly; flowfield results show that when AR is relatively large, the part of the LEV on the outer part of the wings sheds during the sweeping motion. As AR is increased, on one hand, the force coefficients will be increased due to the reduction of 3-dimensional flow effects; on the other hand, they will be decreased due to the shedding of part of the LEV; these two effects approximately cancel each other, resulting in only minor change of the force coefficients.
基金Acknowledgement This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Grant No. 10732030） and the 111 Project （B07009）.
文摘We have examined the aerodynamic effects of corrugation in model wings that closely mimic the wing movements of a forward flight bumblebee using the method of computational fluid dynamics. Various corrugated wing models were tested （care was taken to ensure that the corrugation introduced zero camber）. Advance ratio ranging from 0 to 0.57 was considered. The results shown that at all flight speeds considered, the time courses of aerodynamic force of the corrugated wing are very close to those of the flat-plate wing. The cornlgation decreases aerodynamic force slightly. The changes in the mean location of center of pressure in the spanwise and chordwise directions resulting from the corrugation are no more than 3% of the wing chord length. The possible reason for the small aerodynamic effects of wing corrugation is that the wing operates at a large angle of attack and the flow is separated： the large angle of incidence dominates the corrugation in determining the flow around the wing, and for separated flow, the flow is much less sensitive to wing shape variation.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.10602061)
文摘The aerodynamic mechanism of the bat wing membrane Mong the lateral border of its body is studied. The twist-morphing that alters the angle of attack （AOA） along the span-wise direction is observed widely during bat flapping flight. An assumption is made that the linearly distributed AOA is along the span-wise direction. The plate with the aspect ratio of 3 is used to model a bat wing. A three-dimensional （3D） unsteady panel method is used to predict the aerodynamic forces generated by the flapping plate with leading edge separation. It is found that, relative to the rigid wing flapping, twisting motion can increase the averaged lift by as much as 25% and produce thrust instead of drag. Furthermore, the aerodynamic forces （lift/drag） generated by a twisting plate-wing are similar to those of a pitching rigid-wing, meaning that the twisting in bat flight has the same function as the supination/pronation motion in insect flight.
基金Project supported by the"Fan Zhou"Youth Science Fund of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (No.20070404)
文摘Effects of unsteady deformation of a＇flapping model insect wing on its aerodynamic force production are studied by solving the Navier-Stokes equations on a dynamically deforming grid. Aerodynamic forces on the flapping wing are not much affected by considerable twist, but affected by camber deformation. The effect of combined camber and twist deformation is similar to that of camber deformation. With a deformation of 6% camber and 20% twist （typical values observed for wings of many insects）, lift is increased by 10% - 20% and lift-to-drag ratio by around 10% compared with the case of a rigid fiat-plate wing. As a result, the deformation can increase the maximum lift coefficient of an insect, and reduce its power requirement for flight. For example, for a hovering bumblebee with dynamically deforming wings （6% camber and 20% twist）, aerodynamic power required is reduced by about 16% compared with the case of rigid wings.
基金Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(No.2014CB046201)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51766009,51566011,and 51479114)
文摘Determination of the aerodynamic configuration of wake is the key to analysis and evaluation of the rotor aerodynamic characteristics of a horizontal-axis wind turbine. According to the aerodynamic configuration, the real magnitude and direction of the onflow velocity at the rotor blade can be determined, and subsequently, the aerodynamic force on the rotor can be determined. The commonly employed wake aerodynamic models are of the cylindrical form instead of the actual expanding one. This is because the influence of the radial component of the induced velocity on the wake configuration is neglected. Therefore, this model should be called a "linear model". Using this model means that the induced velocities at the rotor blades and aerodynamic loads on them would be inexact. An approximately accurate approach is proposed in this paper to determine the so-called "nonlinear" wake aerodynamic configuration by means of the potential theory, where the influence of all three coordinate components of the induced velocity on wake aerodynamic configuration is taken into account to obtain a kind of expanding wake that approximately looks like an actual one. First, the rotor aerodynamic model composed of axial (central), bound, and trailing vortexes is established with the help of the finite aspect wing theory. Then, the Biot-Savart formula for the potential flow theory is used to derive a set of integral equations to evaluate the three components of the induced velocity at any point within the wake. The numerical solution to the integral equations is found, and the loci of all elementary trailing vortex filaments behind the rotor are determined thereafter. Finally, to formulate an actual wind turbine rotor, using the nonlinear wake model, the induced velocity everywhere in the wake, especially that at the rotor blade, is obtained in the case of various tip speed ratios and compared with the wake boundary in a neutral atmospheric boundary layer. Hereby, some useful and referential conclusions are offered for the aerodynamic computation and design of the rotor of the horizontal-axis wind turbine.
文摘The broad implication of the paper is to elucidate the significance of the dynamic heaving motion in the aerodynamic performance of multi-element wings,currently considered as a promising aspect for the improvement of the aerodynamic correlation between CFD,wind tunnel and track testing in race car applications.The relationship between the varying aerodynamic forces,the vortex shedding,and the unsteady pressure field of a heaving double-element wing is investigated for a range of mean ride heights,frequencies,and amplitudes,using a two-dimensional(2D)unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS)approach and an overset mesh method for modelling the moving wing.The analysis of the results shows that at high frequencies,i.e.,k≥5.94 and amplitudes a/c≥0.05 the interaction of the shear vorticity between the two elements results in the generation of cohering leading and trailing edge vortices on the flap,associated to the rapid variation of thrust and downforce enhancement.Both the occurrence and intensity of these vortices are dependent upon the frequency,amplitude,and mean ride height of the heaving wing.The addition of the flap significantly alters the frequency of the shed vortices in the wake and maintains the generation of downforce for longer time in ground proximity.The comparison with the static wing provides evidence that the dynamic motion of a race car wing can be beneficial in terms of performance,or detrimental in terms of aerodynamic correlation.
基金supported by a grant from the Academic Research Program of Chungju National University,2006supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the korean Govemment through the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development,Basic Research Promotion Fund(KRF-2007-331-D00081)
文摘Unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of a seagull wing in level flight are investigated using a boundary element method.A new no-penetration boundary condition is imposed on the surface of the wing by considering its deformation.The geometry and kinematics of the seagull wing are reproduced using the functions and data in the previously published literature.The proposed method is validated by comparing the computed results with the published data in the literature.The unsteady aerodynamics characteristics of the seagull wing are investigated by changing flapping frequency and advance ratio.It is found that the peak values of aerodynamic coefficients increase with the flapping frequency.The thrust and drag generations are complicated functions of frequency and wing stroke motions.The lift is inversely proportional to the advance ratio.The effects of several flapping modes on the lift and induced drag(or thrust)generation are also investigated.Among three single modes(flapping, folding and lead & lag),flapping generates the largest lift and can produce thrust alone.For three combined modes,both flapping/folding and flapping/lead & lag can produce lift and thrust larger than the flapping-alone mode can.Folding is shown to increase thrust when combined with flapping,whereas lead & lag has an effect of increasing the lift when also combined with flapping.When three modes are combined together,the bird can obtain the largest lift among the investigated modes.Even though the proposed method is limited to the inviscid flow assumption,it is believed that this method can be used to the design of flapping micro aerial vehicle.
文摘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 delta wing in low Reynold＇s number region to develop an applicative these air vehicle. As an attractive tool in delta wing, leading edge flap （LEF） is employed to directly modify the strength and structure of vortices originating from the separation point along the leading edge. Various configurations of LEF such as drooping apex flap and upward deflected flap are used in combination to enhance the aerodynamic characteristics in the delta wing. The fluid force measurement by six component toad ceil and particle image velocimetry （PIV） analysis are performed as the experimental method. The relations between the aerodynamic superiority and the vortex behavior around the models are demonstrated.
基金supported by the Fund of the CAAC Scientific Research Base of Civil Aviation Flight Technology and Safety (No. F2010KF02)
文摘Changes in flow field around NACA23012 airfoil from a clean condition to a super-cooled large droplet （SLD） condition were simulated, and variations in aerodynamic parameters were calculated using FLUENT. In the case of numerical simulation for a clean airfoil, flow field characteristics simulated agreed well with theory analysis, indicating that turbulence models and parameters setting are feasible. Aerodynamic parameters for iced airfoil were calculated using the same method and agreed with those measured test data under the same environment in icing wind tunnels by S. Lee. Conclusion is made that the numerical simulation is valid, and it can be an alternative to study ice accretion effects at the SLD condition on airfoil aerodynamics, leading to reduction in research cycle time and cost.
文摘This study experimentally investigates aerodynamic characteristics and flow fields of a smooth owl-like airfoil without serrations and velvet structures. This biologically inspired airfoil design is intended to serve as the main-wing for low-Reynolds-number aircrafts such as micro air vehicles. Reynolds number dependency on aerodynamics is also evaluated at low Reynolds numbers. The results of the study show that the owl-like airfoil has high lift performance with a nonlinear lift increase due to the presence of a separation bubble on the suction side. A distinctive flow feature of the owl airfoil is a separation bubble on the pressure side at low angles of attack. The separation bubble switches location from the pressure side to the suction side as the angle of attack increases and is continuously present on the surface within a wide range of angles of attack. The Reynolds number dependency on the lift curves is insignificant, although differences in the drag curves are especially pronounced at high angles of attack. Eventually, we obtain the geometric feature of the owl-like airfoil to increase aerodynamic performance at low Reynolds numbers.
基金Sponsored by the Civil Aircraft Project(Grant No.MIE-2015-F-009)the Shaanxi Province Science and Technology Project(Grant No.2015KTCQ01-78)
文摘The investigation on the aerodynamic characteristics of the high-attitude long-endurance (HALE) Diamond Joined-Wing configuration unmanned aerial vehicle ( UAV) was carried out by the theoretical analysis method and numerical simulation. Research indicates that as the wing of the UAV is composed of the front wing and the after wing, the after wing has the ability to transmit the front wing's boundary layer to the after wing root which can inhibit the front wing's flow separation. Although the front wing was affected by the retardation of the after wing, the aerodynamic performance of the front wing was better than that of alone front wing in most cases. The after wing was also affected by the wake and downwash of the front wing, and its aerodynamic performance was greatly decreased. The characteristic curve of the pitching moment of the UAV had nonlinear characteristics. The flow field structure of the after wing changed by the front wing wake direct sweep and flow separation at the after wing root were the main reasons that non-linear ′rise′phenomenon occurred in two segments ( α = 0° and α = 8° ) of the characteristic curve of pitching moment. Moreover, coupling of the flow separation characteristic of the front wing and the after wing resulted in the pitching moment ′pitchup′ phenomenon. The lateral-directional static stability of the flat layout was weak. The HALE Diamond Joined-Wing configuration UAV ' s aerodynamic performance can be improved and the problems in engineering applications can be effectively alleviated by adjusting the overall layout parameters.
