基于三路舵机驱动的扑翼飞行模型气动特性研究

扑动而形成非定常气动现象是扑翼飞行过程中产生高升力的主要原因。本文以Ellington实验的鹰蛾翅膀为原形,设计扑翼实验及数值计算模型。通过压差传感器对翅膀模型上翼面固定位置进行测压,分析前缘涡的产生及脱落情况(考虑动压效应)。测量上下翼面固定位置处的压差,揭示扑翼飞行中产生高升力的主要原因。利用烟风洞观察扑翼模型周围流场结构及特殊涡产生变化情况。另外,根据Ellington提供的升力关系式估算了扑翼模型在一个周期内的平均升力。最后,基于三维欧拉方程对扑翼飞行气动特性进行数值模拟,计算结果与实验吻合良好。     

On the aerodynamic characteristics of hovering rigid and flexible hawkmoth-like wings

Insect wings are subjected to fluid, inertia and gravitational forces during flapping flight. Owing to their limited rigidity, they bent under the influence of these forces. Numerical study by Hamamoto et al. (Adv Robot 21(1–2):1–21, 2007) showed that a flexible wing is able to generate almost as much lift as a rigid wing during flapping. In this paper, we take a closer look at the relationship between wing flexibility (or stiffness) and aerodynamic force generation in flapping hovering flight. The experimental study was conducted in two stages. The first stage consisted of detailed force measurement and flow visualization of a rigid hawkmoth-like wing undergoing hovering hawkmoth flapping motion and simple harmonic flapping motion, with the aim of establishing a benchmark database for the second stage, which involved hawkmoth-like wing of different flexibility performing the same flapping motions. Hawkmoth motion was conducted at Re = 7,254 and reduced frequency of 0.26, while simple harmonic flapping motion at Re = 7,800 and 11,700, and reduced frequency of 0.25. Results show that aerodynamic force generation on the rigid wing is governed primarily by the combined effect of wing acceleration and leading edge vortex generated on the upper surface of the wing, while the remnants of the wake vortices generated from the previous stroke play only a minor role. Our results from the flexible wing study, while generally supportive of the finding by Hamamoto et al. (Adv Robot 21(1–2):1–21, 2007), also reveal the existence of a critical stiffness constant, below which lift coefficient deteriorates significantly. This finding suggests that although using flexible wing in micro air vehicle application may be beneficial in term of lightweight, too much flexibility can lead to deterioration in flapping performance in terms of aerodynamic force generation. The results further show that wings with stiffness constant above the critical value can deliver mean lift coefficient almost the same as a rigid wing when executing hawkmoth motion, but lower than the rigid wing when performing a simple harmonic motion. In all cases studied (7,800 ≤ Re ≤ 11,700), the Reynolds number does not alter the force generation significantly.     

Reynolds number effects on leading edge vortex development on a waving wing

The waving wing experiment is a fully three-dimensional simplification of the flapping wing motion observed in nature. The spanwise velocity gradient and wing starting and stopping acceleration that exist on an insect-like flapping wing are generated by rotational motion of a finite span wing. The flow development around a waving wing at Reynolds number between 10,000 and 60,000 has been studied using flow visualization and high-speed PIV to capture the unsteady velocity field. Lift and drag forces have been measured over a range of angles of attack, and the lift curve shape was similar in all cases. A transient high-lift peak approximately 1.5 times the quasi-steady value occurred in the first chord length of travel, caused by the formation of a strong attached leading edge vortex. This vortex appears to develop and shed more quickly at lower Reynolds numbers. The circulation of the leading edge vortex has been measured and agrees well with force data.     

Effects of a dynamic trailing-edge flap on the aerodynamic performance and flow structures in hovering flight

To examine the effects of wing morphing on unsteady aerodynamics, deformable flapping plates are numerically studied in a low-Reynolds-number flow. Simulations are carried out using an in-house immersed-boundary-method-based direct numerical simulation (DNS) solver. In current work, chord-wise camber is modeled by a hinge connecting two rigid components. The leading portion is driven by a biological hovering motion along a horizontal stroke plane. The hinged trailing-edge flap (TEF) is controlled by a prescribed harmonic deflection motion. The effects of TEF deflection amplitude, deflection phase difference, hinge location, and Reynolds number on the aerodynamic performance and flow structures are investigated. The results show that the unsteady aerodynamic performance of deformable flapping plates is dominated by the TEF deflection phase difference, which directly affects the strength of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) and thus influences the entire vortex shedding process. The overall lift enhancement can reach up to 26% by tailoring the deflection amplitude and deflection phase difference. It is also found that the role of the dynamic TEF played in the flapping flight is consistent over a range of hinge locations and Reynolds numbers. Results from a low aspect-ratio (AR=2) deformable plate show the same trend as those of 2-D cases despite the effect of the three-dimensionality.     

昆虫拍翼方式的非定常流动物理再探讨

基于提出的理论模化方法来探讨昆虫拍翼方式的非定常流动物理. 以悬停飞行为 例,通过对拍翼运动的分析,不仅解释了昆虫利用高频拍翼的方式为何能够克服低雷诺数带 来的气动局限性(St \gg 1/Re),而且还指出高升力产生和调节的3个流动 控制因素：(1) 由于拍翼的变速运动即时引起了流体动力响应,这种附加惯性效应 可产生瞬时的高升力; (2) 保持前缘涡不脱离翼面有助于减少升力的下降; (3) 增大后缘涡的强度并加速其脱离后缘能够有效地提高升力.     

The effect of phase angle and wing spacing on tandem flapping wings

In a tandem wing configuration, the hindwing often operates in the wake of the forewing and, hence, its performance is affected by the vortices shed by the forewing. Changes in the phase angle between the flapping motions of the fore and the hind wings, as well as the spacing between them, can affect the resulting vortex/wing and vortex/vortex interactions. This study uses 2D numerical simulations to investigate how these changes affect the leading dege vortexes (LEV) generated by the hindwing and the resulting effect on the lift and thrust coefficients as well as the efficiencies. The tandem wing configuration was simulated using an incompressible Navier-Stokes solver at a chord-based Reynolds number of 5 000. A harmonic single frequency sinusoidal oscillation consisting of a combined pitch and plunge motion was used for the flapping wing kinematics at a Strouhal number of 0.3. Four different spacings ranging from 0.1 chords to 1 chord were tested at three different phase angles, 0°, 90° and 180°. It was found that changes in the spacing and phase angle affected the timing of the interaction between the vortex shed from the forewing and the hindwing. Such an interaction affects the LEV formation on the hindwing and results in changes in aerodynamic force production and efficiencies of the hindwing. It is also observed that changing the phase angle has a similar effect as changing the spacing. The results further show that at different spacings the peak force generation occurs at different phase angles, as do the peak efficiencies.     

An experimental study of the unsteady vortex structures in the wake of a root-fixed flapping wing

An experimental study was conducted to characterize the evolution of the unsteady vortex structures in the wake of a root-fixed flapping wing with the wing size, stroke amplitude, and flapping frequency within the range of insect characteristics for the development of novel insect-sized nano-air-vehicles (NAVs). The experiments were conducted in a low-speed wing tunnel with a miniaturized piezoelectric wing (i.e., chord length, C = 12.7 mm) flapping at a frequency of 60 Hz (i.e., f = 60 Hz). The non-dimensional parameters of the flapping wing are chord Reynolds number of Re = 1,200, reduced frequency of k = 3.5, and non-dimensional flapping amplitude at wingtip h = A/C = 1.35. The corresponding Strouhal number (Str) is 0.33, which is well within the optimal range of 0.2 < Str < 0.4 used by flying insects and birds and swimming fishes for locomotion. A digital particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to achieve phased-locked and time-averaged flow field measurements to quantify the transient behavior of the wake vortices in relation to the positions of the flapping wing during the upstroke and down stroke flapping cycles. The characteristics of the wake vortex structures in the chordwise cross planes at different wingspan locations were compared quantitatively to elucidate underlying physics for a better understanding of the unsteady aerodynamics of flapping flight and to explore/optimize design paradigms for the development of novel insect-sized, flapping-wing-based NAVs.     

剪切流作用下层合梁非线性振动特性研究

针对剪切流中层合梁的大变形非线性振动问题, 采用高阶剪切变形锯齿理论和冯·卡门应变描述层合梁的变形模式和几何非线性效应, 构建了大变形层合梁非线性振动有限元数值模型; 采用基于任意拉格朗日?欧拉方法的有限体积法求解不可压缩黏性流体纳维-斯托克斯方程, 结合层合梁和流体的耦合界面条件建立了剪切流作用下层合梁流固耦合非线性动力学数值模型, 采用分区并行强耦合方法对层合梁的流致非线性振动响应进行了迭代计算. 研究了不同速度分布的剪切流作用下单层梁和多层复合材料梁的振动响应特性, 并验证了本文数值建模方法的有效性. 结果表明: 剪切流作用下单层梁的振动特性与均匀流作用下的情况不同, 梁的运动轨迹受剪切流影响向下偏斜, 随着速度分布系数增加, 尾部流场中的涡结构发生改变; 刚度比对剪切流作用下层合梁的振动特性有显著影响, 随着刚度比的增加, 层合梁振动的振幅增大, 主导频率下降, 运动轨迹由‘8’字形逐渐变得不对称; 发现了不同厚度比和铺层角度情况下, 层合梁存在定点稳定模式、周期极限环振动模式和非周期振动模式三种不同的振动模式, 改变层合梁铺层角度可实现层合梁周期极限环振动模式向非周期振动模式转变.      

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF INSECT FLIGHT

In the non-inertial coordinates attached to the model wing, the two-dimensional unsteady flow field triggered by the motion of the model wing, similar to the flapping of the insect wings, was numerically simulated. One of the advantages of our method is that it has avoided the difficulty related to the moving-boundary problem. Another advantage is that the model has three degrees of freedom and can be used to simulate arbitrary motions of a two-dimensional wing in plane only if the motion is known. Such flexibility allows us to study how insects control their flying. Our results show that there are two parameters that are possibly utilized by insects to control their flight: the phase difference between the wing translation and rotation, and the lateral amplitude of flapping along the direction perpendicular to the average flapping plane.     

Large aerodynamic forces on a sweeping wing at low Reynolds number

The aerodynamic forces and flow structure of a model insect wing is studied by solving the Navier-Stokes equations numerically. After an initial start from rest, the wing is made to execute an azimuthal rotation (sweeping) at a large angle of attack and constant angular velocity. The Reynolds number (Re) considered in the present note is 480 (Re is based on the mean chord length of the wing and the speed at 60% wing length from the wing root). During the constant-speed sweeping motion, the stall is absent and large and approximately constant lift and drag coefficients can be maintained. The mechanism for the absence of the stall or the maintenance of large aerodynamic force coefficients is as follows. Soon after the initial start, a vortex ring, which consists of the leading-edge vortex (LEV), the starting vortex, and the two wing-tip vortices, is formed in the wake of the wing. During the subsequent motion of the wing, a base-to-tip spanwise flow converts the vorticity in the LEV to the wing tip and the LEV keeps an approximately constant strength. This prevents the LEV from shedding. As a result, the size of the vortex ring increases approximately linearly with time, resulting in an approximately constant time rate of the first moment of vorticity, or approximately constant lift and drag coefficients. The variation of the relative velocity along the wing span causes a pressure gradient along the wingspan. The base-to-tip spanwise flow is mainly maintained by the pressure-gradient force. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10232010)     

Piezoelectric energy harvesting from morphing wing motions for micro air vehicles

Wing flapping and morphing can be very beneficial to managing the weight of micro air vehicles through coupling the aerodynamic forces with stability and control. In this letter, harvesting energy from the wing morphing is studied to power cameras, sensors, or communication devices of micro air vehicles and to aid in the management of their power. The aerodynamic loads on flapping wings are simulated using a three-dimensional unsteady vortex lattice method. Active wing shape morphing is considered to enhance the performance of the flapping motion. A gradient-based optimization algorithm is used to pinpoint the optimal kinematics maximizing the propellent efficiency. To benefit from the wing deformation, we place piezoelectric layers near the wing roots. Gauss law is used to estimate the electrical harvested power. We demonstrate that enough power can be generated to operate a camera. Numerical analysis shows the feasibility of exploiting wing morphing to harvest energy and improving the design and performance of micro air vehicles.     

昆虫飞行的空气动力学

昆虫是最早出现、数量最多和体积最小的飞行者. 它们能悬停、跃升、急停、快速加速和转弯, 飞行技巧十分高超. 由于尺寸小, 因而翅膀的相对速度很小, 从而进行上述飞行所需的升力系数很大. 但昆虫翅膀的雷诺数又很低. 它们是如何在低雷诺数下产生高升力的, 是流体力学和生物学工作者都十分关心的问题. 近年来这一领域有了许多研究进展. 该文对这些进展进行综述, 并对今后工作提一些建议. 因2005 年前的工作已在几篇综述文章有了详细介绍, 该文主要介绍2005 年以来的工作. 首先简述昆虫翅的拍动运动及昆虫绕流的基本方程和相似参数; 然后对2005 年之前的工作做一简要回顾. 之后介绍2005 年后的进展, 依次为: 运动学观测; 前缘涡; 翅膀柔性变形及皱褶的影响; 拍动翅的尾涡结构; 翼/身、左右翅气动干扰及地面效应; 微小昆虫; 蝴蝶与蜻蜓; 机动飞行. 最后为对今后工作的建议.      

Near wake vortex dynamics of a hovering hawkmoth

Numerical investigation of vortex dynamics in near wake of a hovering hawkmoth and hovering aerodynamics is conducted to support the development of a biology-inspired dynamic flight simulator for flapping wingbased micro air vehicles. Realistic wing-body morphologies and kinematics are adopted in the numerical simulations. The computed results show 3D mechanisms of vortical flow structures in hawkmoth-like hovering. A horseshoe-shaped primary vortex is observed to wrap around each wing during the early down- and upstroke; the horseshoe-shaped vortex subsequently grows into a doughnut-shaped vortex ring with an intense jet-flow present in its core, forming a downwash. The doughnut-shaped vortex rings of the wing pair eventu- ally break up into two circular vortex rings as they propagate downstream in the wake. The aerodynamic yawing and rolling torques are canceled out due to the symmetric wing kinematics even though the aerodynamic pitching torque shows significant variation with time. On the other hand, the time- varying the aerodynamics pitching torque could make the body a longitudinal oscillation over one flapping cycle.     

Experimental characterization of flow unsteadiness in the centerline plane of an Ahmed body rear slant

This study presents the results of an experimental analysis of the unsteady features of the flow around the rear part of an Ahmed body with rear slant angle of 25°. This analysis focuses on the 3D separated and reattaching zone that develops on the rear slanted surface and provides new information, improving the understanding of the flow unsteadiness. Flow investigations were performed using particle image velocimetry, hot wire anemometry, and unsteady flush-mounted pressure transducers in the plane of symmetry above the rear slanted surface. Spectral analysis and proper orthogonal decomposition of the output signals show the emergence of low frequency unsteadiness and high frequencies activity. Characteristic timescales of both instabilities are provided and the physical effect of the low frequency unsteadiness is related to a flapping motion of the separated shear layer, while the high frequency activity is associated with a large-scale vortex emission. The results focus on the centerline plane of the rear slant and more specifically demonstrate relevant similarities with the unsteady mechanisms of 2D recirculated flow.     

Experimental investigation of a flapping wing model

The main objective of this research study was to investigate the aerodynamic forces of an avian flapping wing model system. The model size and the flow conditions were chosen to approximate the flight of a goose. Direct force measurements, using a three-component balance, and PIV flow field measurements parallel and perpendicular to the oncoming flow, were performed in a wind tunnel at Reynolds numbers between 28,000 and 141,000 (3–15 m/s), throughout a range of reduced frequencies between 0.04 and 0.20. The appropriateness of quasi-steady assumptions used to compare 2D, time-averaged particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements in the wake with direct force measurements was evaluated. The vertical force coefficient for flapping wings was typically significantly higher than the maximum coefficient of the fixed wing, implying the influence of unsteady effects, such as delayed stall, even at low reduced frequencies. This puts the validity of the quasi-steady assumption into question. The (local) change in circulation over the wing beat cycle and the circulation distribution along the wingspan were obtained from the measurements in the tip and transverse vortex planes. Flow separation could be observed in the distribution of the circulation, and while the circulation derived from the wake measurements failed to agree exactly with the absolute value of the circulation, the change in circulation over the wing beat cycle was in excellent agreement for low and moderate reduced frequencies. The comparison between the PIV measurements in the two perpendicular planes and the direct force balance measurements, show that within certain limitations the wake visualization is a powerful tool to gain insight into force generation and the flow behavior on flapping wings over the wing beat cycle.     

Time-resolved scanning tomography PIV measurements around a flapping wing

The three-dimensional flow that develops around a finite flapping wing is investigated using a tomographic scanning PIV technique. The acquisition and correlation processes employed to achieve such measurements have been carefully validated. Issues regarding the relevant timescales of the flow and the spanwise space-resolution are addressed. Results obtained on a hovering flapping wing whose plunging phase is described by a rectilinear motion highlight the influence of the free end condition and the formation of the tip vortex on the leading edge vortices behavior, wing/wake interactions, and wake stabilization.     

Effect of apex strake incidence-angle on the vortex development and interaction of a double-delta wing

The vortex flow characteristics of a sharp-edged delta wing with an apex strake was investigated through the visualization and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement of the wing-leeward flow region, and the wing-surface pressure measurement. The wing model was a flat-plate, and 65°-sweep cropped-delta wing with sharp leading edges. The apex strake was also a flat-plate wing with a cropped-delta shape of 65°/90° sweep, and it can change its incidence angle. The flow Reynolds number was 2.2 × 10⁵ for the flow visualization and 8.2 × 10⁵ for the PIV and wing-surface pressure measurements. The physics of the vortex flow in the wing-leeward flow region and the suction-pressure distribution on the wing upper-surface were interrelated and analyzed. The effect of a positive (negative) strake incidence-angle was the upward movement of the strake and wing vortices away from (downward movement of the strake and wing vortices toward) the wing-upper surface and the delayed (enhanced) coiling interaction between them. This change of vortex flow characteristics projected directly on the suction pressure distribution on the wing upper-surface.     

Aerodynamic characteristics of flapping motion in hover

The aim of the present work is to understand the aerodynamic phenomena and the vortex topology of an unsteady flapping motion by means of numerical and experimental methods. Instead of the use of real insect/bird wing geometries and kinematics which are highly complex and difficult to imitate by an exact modeling, a simplified model is used in order to understand the unsteady aerodynamics and vortex formation mechanisms during the different phases of the flapping motion. The flow is assumed to be laminar with a Reynolds number of 1,000. Direct numerical simulations, laser sheet visualizations and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are performed for the phenomenological analysis of the flow. The vortex dynamics and their identification are put in evidence with PIV measurements by considering velocity magnitude, streamlines, second invariant of velocity gradient (Q-criteria), vorticity contours and Eurlerian accelerations.     

Mixing Characteristics of a Flapping Jet from a Self-Exciting Nozzle

Experimental results of the mixing characteristics of a low-frequency flapping jet from a self-exciting nozzle are presented. The simple fluidic device used to generate the flapping motion is also described. The nozzle contains no external trigger and, unlike the flip-flop nozzle of Viets, contains no external feedback path. Both conventional and conditional averaging schemes are employed to characterise the turbulent mixing characteristics of the jet using data obtained from hot-wire anemometry. Flow-visualisation is used to characterise the flapping motion. It is revealed that the dynamic flapping motion enhances the large-scale mixing of the jet while concurrently suppressing the generation of the fine-scale turbulence. The results also indicate that high turbulence intensities, initiated by the flapping motion, are sustained even in the far-field flow region. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vortical structures on a flapping wing

A wing in the form of a rectangular flat plate is subjected to periodic flapping motion. Space–time imaging provides quantitative representations of the flow structure along the wing. Regions of spanwise flow exist along the wing surface; and depending on the location along the span, the flow is either toward or away from the tip of the wing. Onset and development of large-scale, streamwise-oriented vortical structures occur at locations inboard of the tip of the wing, and they can attain values of circulation of the order of one-half the circulation of the tip vortex. Time-shifted images indicate that these streamwise vortical structures persist over a major share of the wing chord. Space–time volume constructions define the form and duration of these structures, relative to the tip vortex.