Wind tunnel tests for Assessment of wing flexibility effects on the aerodynamics of flapping micro aerial vehicle

Abstract

An experimental setup is prepared in order to evaluate the effects of wing flexibility on lift, thrust and power loading of the flapping wings with bending deflection angle (B.D.A.). Hence, two wings with different flexibilities, namely rigid and flexible, are constructed with the same plan form. The experiments are conducted in different flapping frequencies, ranging from 1.5 to 6, and also different velocities of 3-7 m/s at 10 degree angle of attack (AOA). The results indicated that the lift and thrust forces increase with the flapping frequency. Moreover, the lift force enhances with increment of the velocity while thrust is reduced with velocity. The rigid wing produces more lift and thrust forces than flexible wing for all wind tunnel velocities and frequencies. Also, the power loading parameter of the rigid wing, which is defined as the ratio of the thrust force to input power, is more than the flexible wing.