Experimental investigation on aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing vehicle in forward flight

The aerodynamic performance of a flexible membrane flapping wing has been investigated here. For this purpose, a flapping-wing system and an experimental setup were designed to measure the unsteady aerodynamic forces of the flapping wing motion. A one-component force balance was set up to record the temporal variations of aerodynamic forces. The flapping wing was studied in a large low-speed wind tunnel. The lift and thrust of this mechanism were measured for different flapping frequencies, angles of attack and for various wind tunnel velocities. Results indicate that the thrust increases with the flapping frequency. An increase in the wind tunnel speed and flow angle of attack leads to reduction in the thrust value and increases the lift component. The aerodynamic and performance parameters were nondimensionalized. Appropriate models were introduced which show its aerodynamic performance and may be used in the design process and also optimization of the flapping wing. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.