• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.44-52
• /
• 2002

Aerodynamic characteristics of a flapping airfoil in low Reynolds number flows are numerically studied using the unsteady, incompressible Navier-Stokes flow solver with a two-equation turbulence model. For more efficient computation of unsteady flows over flapping airfoil, the flow solver is parallel-implemented by MPI programming method Unsteady computations are performed for low Reynolds number flows over a NACA four-digit series airfoils. Effects of pitching, plunging, and flapping motion with different reduced frequency, amplitude, thickness and camber on aerodynamic characteristics are investigated. Present computational results yield a better agreement in thrust at various reduced frequency with experimental data.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.6-13
• /
• 2006

Aerodynamic characteristics for two-dimensional cyclic motion profile of flapping airfoil in low Reynolds number flows are investigated. Plunging motion and lead-lag motion in the two dimensional space with different plunging and lead-lag amplitudes are combined to cyclic motion profile and the flow around the airfoil is simulated. Present result shows that the improved aerodynamic efficiencies for a given flapping airfoil by adding periodic lead-lag motion of airfoil rather than the pure plunging case. The thrust coefficient and lift coefficient are compared with each cycle during the flapping period and aerodynamic characteristics are obtained on upstroke motion and downstroke motion.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.498-504
• /
• 2011

The flapping characteristics and advance ratios at torque equilibrium state of autorotation were investigated when the airspeed, shaft angle, and pitch angle were varied. To simulate the airspeed increase, the aerodynamic data analyzed by using the compressible Navier-Stokes solver and Pitt/Peters inflow theory were used. Transient Simulation Method(TSM) was used to catch the torque equilibrium states. The maximum flapping angles at torque equilibrium state were correlated to the airspeed, shaft angle, and pitch angle. By comparing flapping behavior to the variation of advance ratio, the phenomenon that the extension of reverse flow area of retreating blade affects the characteristics of autorotation was qualitatively considered.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 2006

The unsteady vortex lattice method is used to model lead-lag in flapping motions of a rectangular flat plate wing. The results for plunging and pitching motions were compared with the limited experimental results available and other numerical methods. They show that the method is capable of simulating many of the features of complex flapping flight. The lift, thrust and propulsive efficiency of a rectangular flat plate wing have been calculated for various lead-lag motion and reduced frequency with an amplitude of flapping angle(20o). To describe a motion profile of wing tip such as elliptic, line and circle, the phase difference of flapping and lead-lag motion was changed. And the effects of the motion profile on the aerodynamic characteristics of the flapping wing are discussed by examination of their trends.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.24-32
• /
• 2003

In this work, we propose a new idea of flapping airfoil design for optimal aerodynamic performance from detailed computational investigations of flow physics. Generally, flapping motion which is combined with pitching and plunging motion of airfoil, leads to complex flow features such as leading edge separation and vortex street. As it is well known, the mechanism of thrust generation of flapping airfoil is based on inverse Karman-vortex street. This vortex street induces jet-like flow field at the rear region of trailing edge and then generates thrust. The leading edge separation vortex can also play an important role with its aerodynamic performances. The flapping airfoil introduces an alternative propulsive way instead of the current inefficient propulsive system such as a propeller in the low Reynolds number flow. Thrust coefficient and propulsive efficiency are the two major parameters in the design of flapping airfoil as propulsive system. Through numerous computations, we found the specific physical flow phenomenon which governed the aerodynamic characteristics in flapping airfoil. Based on this physical insight, we could come up with a new kind of airfoil of tadpole-shaped and more enhanced aerodynamic performance.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.67-87
• /
• 2012

A dragonfly inspired flapping wing is investigated in this paper. The flapping wing is actuated from the root by a PZT-5H and PZN-7%PT single crystal unimorph in the piezofan configuration. The non-linear governing equations of motion of the smart flapping wing are obtained using the Hamilton's principle. These equations are then discretized using the Galerkin method and solved using the method of multiple scales. Dynamic characteristics of smart flapping wings having the same size as the actual wings of three different dragonfly species Aeshna Multicolor, Anax Parthenope Julius and Sympetrum Frequens are analyzed using numerical simulations. An unsteady aerodynamic model is used to obtain the aerodynamic forces. Finally, a comparative study of performances of three piezoelectrically actuated flapping wings is performed. The numerical results in this paper show that use of PZN-7%PT single crystal piezoceramic can lead to considerable amount of wing weight reduction and increase of lift and thrust force compared to PZT-5H material. It is also shown that dragonfly inspired smart flapping wings actuated by single crystal piezoceramic are a viable contender for insect scale flapping wing micro air vehicles.

• Journal of KSNVE
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.215-224
• /
• 1995

In this paper, the three-dimensional finite element model is established to investigate the structural dynamic characteristics of rotor blade using a finite element analysis. Six natural frequencies and mode shapes are calculated by computer simulation. The first three flapping modal frequencies, the first two lead-lag modal frequencies, and the first feathering modal frequency are validated through comparison with the modal test results of the fixed rotor blade. The computer simulation results are found in good agreement with experimentally measured natural frequencies. The important results are obtained as follows: (1) Natural frequencies are changed due to the variation of rotational speed and fiber angle of rotor blade, (2) Weak coupling between flapping mode shape and lead-lag mode shape are detected, (3) Centrifugal force has more effect on flapping modal frequency than lead-lag modal frequency.

• Smart Structures and Systems
• /
• v.6 no.7
• /
• pp.867-887
• /
• 2010

An energy-based variational approach is used for structural dynamic modeling of the IPMC (Ionic Polymer Metal Composites) flapping wing. Dynamic characteristics of the wing are analyzed using numerical simulations. Starting with the initial design, critical parameters which have influence on the performance of the wing are identified through parametric studies. An optimization study is performed to obtain improved flapping actuation of the IPMC wing. It is shown that the optimization algorithm leads to a flapping wing with dimensions similar to the dragonfly Aeshna Multicolor wing. An unsteady aerodynamic model based on modified strip theory is used to obtain the aerodynamic forces. It is found that the IPMC wing generates sufficient lift to support its own weight and carry a small payload. It is therefore a potential candidate for flapping wing of micro air vehicles.

• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.256-261
• /
• 2016

An insect-like flapping-wing flying-robot should be able to produce flight forces and control moments at the same time only by flapping wings, because there is no control surface at tail just like an insect. In this paper, design principles for the flapping mechanism and control moment generator are briefly explained, characteristics measured force and moment generations of the robot are presented, and finally controlled flight of the flying robot is demonstrated. The present insect-like robot comprises a lightweight flapping mechanism that can produce a flapping angle larger than $180^{\circ}$ and a control moment generator that produces pitch, roll, and yaw moments by adjusting location of the trailing edges at the wing roots. The measured force and moment data show that the control input angles less than $9^{\circ}$ would not significantly reduce the vertical force generation. It is also observed that the pitch, roll, and yaw control moments are produced only by the corresponding control input. The simple PID control theory is used for the controlled flight of the flying robot, controlling pitch, roll, and yaw motions. The flying robot successfully demonstrated controlled flight for about 40 seconds.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.1999-2010
• /
• 2023

Undesirable flapping motion of discs can cause the failure of swing check valves in nuclear passive safety systems. Time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) was employed to investigate the flow characteristics around a free-to-rotate plate and the motion response, with the Reynolds numbers, based on the hydraulic diameter of the channel, from 1.32 × 10⁴ to 3.95 × 10⁴. Appreciable flapping motion (±3.52°) appeared at the Reynolds number of 2.6 × 10⁴ with the frequency of 5.08 Hz. In the low-Reynolds-number case, the plate showed negligible flapping. In the high-Reynolds-number case, the deflection angle increased with reduced flapping amplitude. The torque from the fluid determined the flapping amplitude. In the low-Reynolds-number case, Karman vortices were absent. With increasing Reynolds numbers, Karman vortices developed behind the plate with larger deflection angles. Strong interaction between the wake flow from the leading and trailing edge of the plate was observed. Based on power spectrum density (PSD) analysis, the vortex shedding frequency coincided with the flapping frequency, and the amplitude was positively correlated to the strength of the vortices. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) modes evince that, in the case of appreciable motion, coherent structures exhibited a larger spatial scale, enhancing the magnitude of the external torque on the plate.