Flapping-fin unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) propulsion systems provide high maneuverability for naval tasks such as surveillance and terrain exploration. Recent work has explored the use of time-series neural network surrogate models to predict thrust from design fin kinematics. We develop a search-based inverse model that leverages kinematics-to-thrust control system design. Our finds set k...

This paper describes the work for optimizing the propulsive efficiency of flapping airfoils, i.e., improving the thrust under constraining aerodynamic work during the flapping flights by changing their shape and trajectory of motion with the unsteady discrete adjoint approach. For unsteady problems, it is essential to properly resolving time scales of motion under consideration and it must be c...

Labriform locomotion, which is powered by oscillating the paired pectoral fins, varies along a continuum from rowing the fins back and forth to flapping the fins up and down. It has generally been assumed (i) that flapping is more mechanically efficient than rowing, a hypothesis confirmed by a recent simulation experiment, and (ii) that flapping should be associated with wing-shaped fins while ...

We study the flapping instability observed when a liquid jet is incompletely atomized by a fast parallel gas stream: the remaining liquid jet is destabilized over a scale large compared with its radius, and breaks into liquid fragments. We characterize the symmetry of this instability and its frequency. The intact liquid length is measured as a function of gas and liquid velocity, and turns out...

Following the identification and confirmation of the substructures of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) system on flapping wings, it is apparent that the actual LEV structures could be more complex than had been estimated in previous investigations. In this experimental study, we reveal for the first time the detailed three-dimensional (3-D) flow structures and evolution of the LEVs on a flapping w...

This paper presented a click mechanism, which is inspired by a Dipteran insect, for use in flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle. The clicking mechanism is integrated in a thorax-like compliant mechanism, which buckles and consequently produces a large wing stroke when driven by an electric motor. The thorax-like compliant mechanism can store elastic energy in flexible hinges and is good for stori...

Abstract It is known that plunging airfoil can produce both lift and thrust with certain combination of plunging amplitude and frequency. Motivated by our interest in micro air vehicles (MAVs), we utilize a NavierStokes equation solver to investigate the aerodynamics of a flapping airfoil. The roles of the plunging and pitching amplitude and frequency, and Strouhal number are studied. For a sym...

Swimming fishes exhibit remarkable diversities of the caudal fin geometries. In this work, a computational study is conducted to investigate the effects of the caudal fin shape on the hydrodynamic performance and wake patterns in flapping propulsion. We construct the propulsor models in different shapes by digitizing the real caudal fins of fish across a wide range of species spanning homocerca...

To study the radar cross-section (RCS) of a flapping-wing aircraft, method dynamic scattering is presented. The aircraft has two rigid wings and fuselage similar to bird’s body, where plane shape wing U-type. model established pitching flapping actions are simulated. electromagnetic characteristics under flight modes, different wave frequencies observation angles investigated. results show that...

The design of efficient flapping wings for human engineered micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) has long been an elusive goal, in part due to the large size of the design space. One strategy for overcoming this difficulty is to use a multi-fidelity simulation strategy appropriately balances computation time and accuracy. We compare two models with different geometric and physical fidelity. The low-fid...