Aeroelastic Optimization of Flapping Wing Venation: a Cellular Division Approach

Abstract

The aeroelastic response of a biologically inspired flappingmembrane wing to unsteady inertial and aerodynamic forces is strongly predicated upon the topological distribution of the underlying skeletal reinforcement (venation patterns). Proper exploitation of this relationship may enable the development of effective flapping wing micro air vehicles. The skeletal topology is parameterized into a developmental programwhich, when compiled and executed, evolves the wing topology in stages. A genetic algorithm can optimize the details of this program, rather than explicitly considering the topology itself, thus removing the link between design variables and topological geometry resolution. This cellular division tool is coupled to an unsteady aeroelastic representation of a flapping wing in forward flight in order to obtain the Pareto tradeoff curves between thrust generation, lift generation, and input power requirements. The topologies obtained along the front provide an understanding of the key relationships between skeletal topology, aeroelastic behavior, and performance metrics during flapping flight.