• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.289-296
• /
• 2017

In this paper, geometrical optimization for newly designed flapping mechanism for insect-like micro air vehicle is presented. The mechanism uses strings to convert rotation of motor to reciprocating wing motion to reduce the total weight and inertial force. The governing algorithm of movement of the mechanism is established considering the characteristic of string that only tensile force can be acted by string, to optimize the kinematics. Modified pattern search method which is complemented to avoid converging into local optimum is adopted to the geometrical optimization of the mechanism. Then, prototype of the optimized geometry is produced and experimented to check the feasibility of the mechanism and the optimization method. The results from optimization and experiment shows good agreement in flapping amplitude and other wing kinematics. Further research will be conducted on dynamic analysis of the mechanism and detailed specification of the prototype.