Aerodynamic Analysis of a Gull-inspired Flapping Wing Glider

Abstract

This paper provided a gull-inspired flapping wing micro aerial vehicle (FMAV) concept followed with aerodynamic analysis. The FMAV supposed to implement both flapping and gliding mode during the flight to enlarge the endurance. A cambered airfoil is employed for wing cross section different with the traditional flat plate. Aerodynamic analysis is proposed through 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method to get the lift characteristic of two different modes. Result shows that the FMAV is able to generate the lift force up to 5 N with an angle of attack 6 degrees and flight speed 6 m/s without flapping, which proves that the FMAV is able to achieve gliding in specific circumstance. Flapping motion is able to produce a higher lift during the flight. Comparison of the lift performance under a specific condition shows that the average lift generated with flapping is 65.3% higher than gliding mode. Research also found that the effect of airfoil camber on lift generation with flapping is not always positive, further analysis is needed when employs a cambered wing in design of FMAVs.