Analysis of Thrust Production in Small Synthetic Flapping Wings

Abstract

For flapping micro air vehicles, geometrical parameters such as size, aspect ratio as well as structural topology can affect thrust production in hover mode. Synthetic wings similar in size to that of a humming bird’s were manufactured with the hope of understanding these affects. The experimental method for measuring thrust and the manufacturing process used to make the wings have seen improvement from previous work such that there is less scatter and uncertainty; this allows for smaller variations in thrust to be detected. With confidence in the fabrication and testing procedure, an optimization problem was attempted where three design parameters were chosen as variables and the objective was to maximize thrust. These efforts were coupled with noncontact imaging techniques like digital image correlation and laser doppler velocimetry to help extract the characteristics that are consistent with wings that produce considerable thrust. The results of these tests will help to obtain the relationships between the consciously selected geometric parameters and the thrust produced. It was found that by machining the synthetic wings from acetal resin sheet and pairing that skeleton with a carbon fiber rod less variation was present. This wing construction was found to have a quick production time, making an experimental optimization feasible.