Quasi-conical aerodynamic loadings due to kinked planform wings.

Aerodynamic Hovering Performance of Rigid and Flexible Wing Planform Shapes

Wing geometric parameters govern the aerodynamic performance of insects and micro aerial vehicles. Previous studies of wing shapes have been limited to rigid wings. The aerodynamic hovering performance of rigid and flexible wing shapes for aspect ratio AR = 1.5 is evaluated computationally at the Reynolds number (Re) of 400. The three-dimensional viscous incompressible Navier-Stokes equations a...

Unsteady-State Aerodynamic Performance of MEMS Wings

The unsteady-state aerodynamic performance results of various MEMS-fabricated titanium-alloy wing designs are presented. These wing are tested in a high-quality low-speed wind tunnel with velocity uniformity of 0.5%.. For the first time, we have identified the importance of spanwise stiffness effect in generating the leading edge vortices. These vortices, generated around each wing, cause a low...

Aerodynamic effects of flexibility in flapping wings.

Recent work on the aerodynamics of flapping flight reveals fundamental differences in the mechanisms of aerodynamic force generation between fixed and flapping wings. When fixed wings translate at high angles of attack, they periodically generate and shed leading and trailing edge vortices as reflected in their fluctuating aerodynamic force traces and associated flow visualization. In contrast,...

Non-conical Flow past Slender Wings with Leading-edge

Aerodynamic characteristics of the wings and body of a dragonfly

The aerodynamic characteristics of the wings and body of a dragonfly and of artificial wing models were studied by conducting two types of wind-tunnel tests and a number of free-flight tests of gliders made using dragonfly wings. The results were consistent between these different tests. The effects of camber, thickness, sharpness of the leading edge and surface roughness on the aerodynamic cha...