Abstract. This paper discusses the use of multibody dynamics, augmented by the direct implementation of nonlinear finite element beams and significantly shells, to perform the coupled structural and fluid-dynamics analysis of flapping wing Micro-Aerial Vehicles. The implementation of the shell formulation in a free general-purpose multibody solver is described and validated. The solver, coupled...

All animals flap their wings in powered flight to provide both lift and thrust, yet few human-engineered designs do so. When combined with flexible wing surfaces, the resulting unsteady fluid flows and interactions in flapping flight can be complex to describe, understand, and model. Here, a simple modified actuator disk is used in a quasi-steady description of the net aerodynamic lift forces o...

the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of preslaughter shackling durations on some blood parameters, breast and thigh meat quality traits, and muscle metabolites in broilers. the effects of shackling were determined in a group of ross 308 broilers (240 birds) aged 42 days. four shackling treatments were used in experimental tests: shackling of broilers for 10 (group g10; as contro...

In this paper, we present experimental results on altitude control of a flying microrobot. The problem is approached in two stages. In the first stage, system identification of two relevant subsystems composing the microrobot is performed, using a static flapping experimental setup. In the second stage, the information gathered through the static flapping experiments is employed to design the c...

The turning flight of six microchiropteran bat species is described. The bats' abilities to turn tightly were determined by their abilities to fly slowly and to generate high lateral accelerations. Rhinolophus ferrumequinum developed high lateral accelerations by flapping its banked wings while flying at very low speed. Plecotus auritus turned at relatively low speed and at low lateral accelera...

A recent experiment has shown “inverted drafting” in flags: the drag force on one flag is increased by excitation from the wake of another. Here we use vortex sheet simulations to show that inverted drafting occurs when the flag wakes add coherently to form strong vortices. By contrast, normal drafting occurs for higher-frequency oscillations, when the vortex wake becomes more complex and mixed...

Wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans are among the largest flying birds. Their energy-efficient dynamic soaring flight allows them to travel large distances by exploiting gradient in wind strength above sea surface. We used bio-logging devices study behaviour of wandering albatrosses, deriving roll (bank) angles from video and tri-axial magnetometers, flapping events accelerometers. Albatross...

We demonstrate the first instance of a real on-line robot learning to develop feasible flying (flapping) behavior, using evolution. Here we present the experiments and results of the first use of evolutionary methods for a flying robot. With nature’s own method, evolution, we address the highly non-linear fluid dynamics of flying. The flying robot is constrained in a test bench where timing and...