Aerodynamic Performance of a Flapping Wing Inspired by Bats

Abstract

Bio-inspiration is a design method where natural observation was used to solve a mechanical problem. In this study, a bio-inspiration meth-od was used to design a flapping wing for a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) that is inspired by bat wings. The objective of this study is to study the aerodynamic performance of a flapping wing based on bat wings at different angles of attack. This is done using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation where the aerodynamic performance a wing derived from a natural bat wing shape was studied. The wing was generated by tracing the wing shape of a bat wing and the shape was generalized to produce the wing shape. In the simulation, a 2-way Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) method was used where a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solver was coupled with a CFD solver to simulate the wing during flapping flight. The flight condition was set at 1 m/s flight speed at a flapping frequency of 2.5Hz. From the results, it was shown that the wing has a zero-lift angle at 0o and a stall angle at 16o. It is also shown that the wing has a minimum drag angle at 3o and a maximum aerodynamic efficiency at angle of attack 12o.