Aeroelastic Simulation of Flexible Flapping Wing Based on Structural Fem and Quasi-steady Aerodynamic Model

Developing a FWNAV is an ambitious and arduous tasks relying currently mostly on trial and error method. In order to assist these developments, a preliminary design tool evaluating the aeroelastic performance of a flapping wing is sound. Our approach, coupling a structural finite element solver to a quasi-steady aerodynamic model, is here reported along with some of its applications: the selection of an appropriate actuation strategy, the combination a DOF and a waveform, and the definition of an optimization environment based on genetic algorithm so as to design ’optimized’ wing geometry. Results indicate first, that a flapping actuation is more efficient than a heaving actuation for resonant wing, and second, that a sine actuation is a good compromise too. Third, the issue raised previously by a risk reduction optimization were fixed and enable more coherent individuals to be found out. In a nutshell, our aeroelastic framework can be seen as a satisfactory preliminary design tool for FWNAVs.