Aerodynamic efficiency of a bio-inspired flapping wing rotor at low Reynolds number

dc.contributor.authorLi, Hao
dc.contributor.authorGuo, Shijun
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-14T14:28:37Z
dc.date.available2018-03-14T14:28:37Z
dc.date.issued2018-03-14
dc.description.abstractThis study investigates the aerodynamic efficiency of a bioinspired flapping wing rotor kinematics which combines an active vertical flapping motion and a passive horizontal rotation induced by aerodynamic thrust. The aerodynamic efficiencies for producing both vertical lift and horizontal thrust of the wing are obtained using a quasi-steady aerodynamic model and two-dimensional (2D) CFD analysis at Reynolds number of 2500. The calculated efficiency data show that both efficiencies (propulsive efficiency-ηp, and efficiency for producing lift-Pf) of the wing are optimized at Strouhal number (St) between 0.1 and 0.5 for a range of wing pitch angles (upstroke angle of attack αu less than 45°); the St for high Pf (St = 0.1 ∼ 0.3) is generally lower than for high ηp (St = 0.2 ∼ 0.5), while the St for equilibrium rotation states lies between the two. Further systematic calculations show that the natural equilibrium of the passive rotating wing automatically converges to high-efficiency states: above 85% of maximum Pf can be obtained for a wide range of prescribed wing kinematics. This study provides insight into the aerodynamic efficiency of biological flyers in cruising flight, as well as practical applications for micro air vehicle design.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationHao Li and Shijun Guo. Aerodynamic efficiency of a bio-inspired flapping wing rotor at low Reynolds number. Royal Society Open Science, Volume 5, article number 171307en_UK
dc.identifier.issn2054-5703
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171307
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/13087
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherRoyal Society Open Scienceen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.titleAerodynamic efficiency of a bio-inspired flapping wing rotor at low Reynolds numberen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Aerodynamic_efficiency_of_a_bio-inspired_flapping_wing_rotor-2018.pdf
Size:
851.75 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.63 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: