Energy considerations and flow fields over whiffling-inspired wings

Abstract

Some bird species fly inverted, or whiffle, to lose altitude. Inverted flight twists the primary flight feathers, creating gaps along the wing’s trailing edge and decreasing lift. It is speculated that feather rotation-inspired gaps could be used as control surfaces on uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). When implemented on one semi-span of a UAV wing, the gaps produce roll due to the asymmetric lift distribution. However, the understanding of the fluid mechanics and actuation requirements of this novel gapped wing were rudimentary. Here, we use a commercial computational fluid dynamics solver to model a gapped wing, compare its analytically estimated work requirements to an aileron, and identify the impacts of key aerodynamic mechanisms. An experimental validation shows that the results agree well with previous findings. We also find that the gaps re-energize the boundary layer over the suction side of the trailing edge, delaying stall of the gapped wing. Further, the gaps produce vortices distributed along the wingspan. This vortex behavior creates a beneficial lift distribution that produces comparable roll and less yaw than the aileron. The gap vortices also inform the change in the control surface’s roll effectiveness across angle of attack. Finally, the flow within a gap recirculates and creates negative pressure coefficients on the majority of the gap face. The result is a suction force on the gap face that increases with angle of attack and requires work to hold the gaps open. Overall, the gapped wing requires higher actuation work than the aileron at low rolling moment coefficients. However, above rolling moment coefficients of 0.0182, the gapped wing requires less work and ultimately produces a higher maximum rolling moment coefficient. Despite the variable control effectiveness, the data suggest that the gapped wing could be a useful roll control surface for energy-constrained UAVs at high lift coefficients.