Wing shape optimization design inspired by beetle hindwings in wind tunnel experiments

Abstract

Flighted beetles have deployable hindwings, which enable them to directly reduce their body size, and thus are excellent bioinspired prototypes for microair vehicles (MAVs). The wing shape of MAVs has an important influence on their aerodynamics. In this paper, wing shapes, inspired from three beetle species’ hindwings and designed in terms of the wing camber angle, geometry (including wing length, aspect ratio (AR), and taper ratio (TR)) and wing area, were selected and varied to optimize lift together with the efficiency of wing. All the wings were fabricated by a Tyvek membrane and tested in a wind tunnel. The camber angle and AR were found to have a critical role in force production. The best performance was obtained by a wing with a camber angle of 10°, wing length of 125 mm, AR of 7.06, TR of 0.40 and wing area of 4115 mm2.