Aerodynamic Performance of Small Model of Ornithopter -Numerical Study for Experimental Model-

Abstract

Fundamental aerodynamic characteristics are studied for the ornithopter in this paper. Three types of movement of wing are examined including 1) flapping motion to move the wing into the vertical direction, 2) feathering motion to change the angle of attack in the flapping motion, and 3) lead-lag motion to move the wing into the horizontal direction. A wing model in two dimensional motion in vertical plane is analyzed numerically in the flapping, feathering, and lead-lag motion. The aerodynamic characteristics are examined for the resulting vertical forces and horizontal forces obtained by the wing due to these three types of motion. These numerical results show the importance of the method of combination between the flapping, feathering, and lead-lag motion. Flight result of an experimental model also is introduced to enable these three movements experimentally. Three motions have made the model able to climbing and thrusting flight resulting in successful flight of an ornithopter.