Application of fluid-structure interaction analysis to flapping flight of insects with deformable wings

• Published in: Advanced robotics Vol. 21; no. 1-2; pp. 1 - 21
• Main Authors: Hamamoto, Masaki, Ohta, Yoshiji, Hara, Keita, Hisada, Toshiaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2007
• Subjects: ARBITRARY LAGRANGIAN-EULERIAN METHOD; FINITE ELEMENT METHOD; FLAPPING FLIGHT; FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION; UNSTEADY AERODYNAMICS
• ISSN: 0169-1864; 1568-5535
• DOI: 10.1163/156855307779293643

The aerodynamic advantage of the dragonfly's flexible wing during hovering is quantitatively investigated. The flapping flight of insects, which have simple wings compared with those of a bird, is an ideal means of travel for microrobots. For the realization of such microflight, reduction of the wing weight is essential. One of the simplest means of trimming the wing mass is to reduce the thickness. However, a very thin wing cannot hold against an aerodynamic force and will loose lift power. Thus, for the design of a flapping microrobot like a dragonfly, we should investigate the loss and choose flexibility to avoid it. Unfortunately, a complicated interaction between wing deformation and the surrounding airflow has long prevented the elucidation of the effect of the flexibility. We found that finite element analysis based on the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method can handle the problem accurately. We established customized modeling methods for such a deformable wing and its actuation, and tested its adequacy on actual dragonfly hovering. Then, we compared the aerodynamic performance of the flexible wing with that of an imaginary rigid one, and examined the advantages and disadvantages of the flexible wing.