An analytical treatment to quantify the losses captured in the induced power factor, k, is provided for flapping wings in normal hover, including the effects of non-uniform downwash, tip losses and finite flapping amplitude. The method is based on a novel combination of actuator disc and lifting line blade theories that also takes into account the effect of advance ratio. The model has been eva...

Flies are among the most agile flying creatures on Earth. To mimic this aerial prowess in a similarly sized robot requires tiny, high-efficiency mechanical components that pose miniaturization challenges governed by force-scaling laws, suggesting unconventional solutions for propulsion, actuation, and manufacturing. To this end, we developed high-power-density piezoelectric flight muscles and a...

We systematically investigated the effect of body rotation on the aerodynamic torque generation on flapping wings during fast turning maneuvers (body saccades) in the fruit fly Drosophila. A quasi-steady aerodynamic simulation of turning maneuvers with symmetrically flapping wings showed that body rotation causes a substantial aerodynamic counter-torque, known as flapping counter-torque (FCT), ...

More than a million insects and approximately 11,000 vertebrates utilize flapping wings to fly. However, flapping flight has only been studied in a few of these species, so many challenges remain in understanding this form of locomotion. Five key aerodynamic mechanisms have been identified for insect flight. Among these is the leading edge vortex, which is a convergent solution to avoid stall f...

A finite element flow solver was employed to compute unsteady flow past a three-dimensional Drosophila wing undergoing flapping motion. The computed thrust and drag forces agreed well with results from a previous experimental study. A grid-refinement study was performed to validate the computational results, and a grid-independent solution was achieved. The effect of phasing between the transla...

Insect- and bird-size drones-micro air vehicles (MAV) that can perform autonomous flight in natural and man-made environments are now an active and well-integrated research area. MAVs normally operate at a low speed in a Reynolds number regime of 10(4)-10(5) or lower, in which most flying animals of insects, birds and bats fly, and encounter unconventional challenges in generating sufficient ae...

Force measurements from experiments conducted in water on a flapping-and-pitching thin flat plate wing of semi-elliptic planform at low Reynolds numbers are reported. Time varying force data, measured using a force transducer, provide a means to understand the mechanisms that lead to enhanced performance observed in insect flight compared to fixed wing aerodynamics. Experimental uncertainties a...

A power estimation approach for calculating the of a flapping-wing air vehicle (FWAV) in forward flight is proposed this paper. One challenges and essential points FWAVs endurance. In order to optimize FWAVs, it necessary analyze required addition kinematic aerodynamic analyses prototype. Previously, birds was limited their average power, which assumed lift usually same as gravitational force. ...