Numerical simulation of the flow around a flapping-wing micro air vehicle in free flight

Abstract

This study presents a computational tool to accurately simulate the flow around a flapping-wing micro air vehicle in free flight. The flow around the vehicle is obtained by solving the Navier–Stokes equations of the incompressible flow using an immersed boundary method. The motion of the vehicle subject to aerodynamic and gravity forces is obtained by solving the rigid body equations using a quaternion formulation for the vehicle’s orientation. Both sets of equations are solved in a coupled way. The methodology is illustrated by simulating the flow around a model vehicle in uncontrolled, symmetric, forward flight at low Reynolds number, where the wing kinematics is externally imposed. The analysis is performed on the initial stages after the vehicle is released, with particular emphasis on the aerodynamic forces and the flow around the vehicle.