• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.255-260
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• 2004

Existing flapping MAV which is driven by motors or the other materials, has various defects. For the settlement of the issue, flapping MAV wing actuator is developed by using ADE(Acrylic Dielectric Elastomer). In comparison with existing materials which drive flapping wing, ADE has advantages of light weight as well as sufficient force. In order that correct lift farce occurs at this actuator, it must require to control to approach given reference. So it is controlled to approach given displacement by using fuzzy algorithm and is verified through simulation.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.130-143
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• 2007

Using steady state aerodynamic theories, it has been claimed that insects and birds cannot fly. To make matters worse, insects and birds fly at low Reynolds numbers. Therefore, a recurring theme in the literature is the importance of understanding unsteady aerodynamic effect and how the vortices behave when they separate from the moving surface that created them. In flapping flight, birds and insects can modify wing beat amplitude, stroke angle, wing planform area, angle of attack, and to a lesser extent flapping frequency to optimize the generation of lift force. Some birds are thought to employ two different gaits(a vortex ring gait and a continuous vortex gait) and unsteady aerodynamic effect(Clap and fling, Delayed stall, Wake capture and Rotational Circulation) in flapping flight. Leading edge vortices may produce an increase in lift. The trailing edge vortex could be an important component in gliding flight. Tip vortices in hovering support the body weight of the hummingbirds. Thus, this study investigated how insects and birds generate lift at low Reynolds numbers. This research is written to further that as yet incomplete understanding.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.335-348
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• 2018

The structural dynamics (SD) behavior of Elastic Flapping Wings (EFWs) is investigated analytically as a novel approach in EFWs analysis. In this regard an analytical SD solution of EFW undergoing a prescribed rigid body motion is initially derived, where the governing equations are expressed in modal space. The inertial forces are also analytically computed utilizing the actuator induced acceleration effects on the wing structure, while due to importance of analytical solution the linearity assumption is also considered. The formulated initial-value problem is solved analytically to study the EFW structural responses, where the effect of structure-actuator frequency ratio, structure-flapping frequency ratio as well as the structure damping ratio on the EFW pick amplitude is analyzed. A case study is also simulated in which the wing is modeled as an elastic beam with shell elements undergoing a prescribed sinusoidal motion. The corresponding EFW transient and steady response in on-off servo behavior is investigated. This study provides a conceptual understanding for the overall EFW SD behavior in the presence of inertial forces plus the servo dynamics effects. In addition to the substantial analytical results, the study paves a new mathematical way to better understanding the complex role of SD in dynamic EFWs behavior. Specifically, similar mathematical formulations can be carried out to investigate the effect of aerodynamics and/or gravity.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.152-161
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• 2013

This paper presents a control effectiveness analysis of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. A multibody dynamic model of the insect that considers the time-varying inertia of two flapping wings is established, based on measurement data from the real hawkmoth. A six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) multibody flight dynamics simulation environment is used to analyze the effectiveness of the control variables defined in a wing kinematics function. The aerodynamics from complex wing flapping motions is estimated by a blade element approach, including translational and rotational force coefficients derived from relevant experimental studies. Control characteristics of flight dynamics with respect to the changes of three angular degrees of freedom (stroke positional, feathering, and deviation angle) of the wing kinematics are investigated. Results show that the symmetric (asymmetric) wing kinematics change of each wing only affects the longitudinal (lateral) flight forces and moments, which implies that the longitudinal and lateral flight controls are decoupled. However, there are coupling effects within each plane of motion. In the longitudinal plane, pitch and forward/backward motion controls are coupled; in the lateral plane, roll and side-translation motion controls are coupled.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.390-396
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• 2007

In the present study, we have developed a flapping wing using a smart material to mimic the nature's flyers, birds. The wing consists of composite frames, a flexible PVC film and a surface actuator, and the main wing motions are flapping, twisting and camber motions. To change the camber, a Macro-Fiber Composite(MFC) is used as the surface actuator, and it's structural response is analyzed by the use of piezoelectric-thermal analogy. To measure the lift and thrust simultaneously, a test stand consisting of two load cells is manufactured. Some aerodynamic tests are performed for the wing in a subsonic wind tunnel to evaluate the dynamic characteristics. Experimental results show that the main lift is mostly affected by the forward velocity and the pitch angle, but the thrust is mostly affected by the flapping frequency. The effect of the camber generated by the MFC actuator can produce the sufficient lift increment of up to 24.4% in static condition and 20.8% in dynamic condition.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.151-158
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• 2009

To implement the insects' flapping flight for developing flapping MAVs(micro air vehicles), the unsteady flow characteristics of the insects' forward flight is investigated. In this paper, two-dimensional FSI(Fluid-Structure Interaction) simulations are conducted to examine realistic flow features of insects' flapping flight and to examine the flexibility effects of the insect's wing. The unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with an artificial compressibility method are implemented as the fluid module while the dynamic finite element equations using a direct integration method are employed as the solid module. In order to exchange physical information to each module, the common refinement method is employed as the data transfer method. Also, a simple and efficient dynamic grid deformation technique based on Delaunay graph mapping is used to deform computational grids. Compared to the earlier researches of two-dimensional rigid wing simulations, key physical phenomena and flow patterns such as vortex pairing and vortex staying can still be observed. For example, lift is mainly generated during downstroke motion by high effective angle of attack caused by translation and lagging motion. A large amount of thrust is generated abruptly at the end of upstroke motion. However, the quantitative aspect of flow field is somewhat different. A flexible wing generates more thrust but less lift than a rigid wing. This is because the net force acting on wing surface is split into two directions due to structural flexibility. As a consequence, thrust and propulsive efficiency was enhanced considerably compared to a rigid wing. From these numerical simulations, it is seen that the wing flexibility yields a significant impact on aerodynamic characteristics.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.837-847
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• 2020

A velocity profile for flapping flight is optimized to increase the power efficiency of 20g weighted flapping wing micro air vehicle in hover. The experimental optimization of flapping velocity profile is carried out with a real sized flapper, and various velocity profiles are realized by non-circular gear. Kriging with noise is adopted as a meta model of the profile optimization to reflect the data noise by uncertainty. The optimization results confirm that the flapping efficiency (thrust-to-power ratio) is substantially improved (11.3%) through the elastic deformation that carries the angular kinetic energy from previous stroke.

• Composites Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.7-12
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• 2009

This paper deals with a fabrication method of composite hinge mechanisms for flapping-wing micro air vehicles. The fabrication process includes curing process of Graphite/Epoxyprepregs, laser cutting for high fabrication repeatability, laminating of Graphite/Epoxy prepregs with Kapton film which is used for flexure, and so on. The fabricated hinge mechanism was attached with PUMPS actuators and the measured flapping angle was $173^{\circ}$ when driving voltage was 300V 170Hz.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2021

The flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FW-MAV) in this study utilizes the cambered wings made of quite flexible material. Similar to the flying creatures, the present cambered wing uses three different materials at its leading edge, vein, and membrane. And it is constrained in various conditions. Since passive rotation uses the flexible nature of the wing, it is important to select an appropriate material for a wing. A three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction solver is developed for a realistic modeling of the cambered wing. Then a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the aerodynamic performance in terms of the elastic modulus of leading edge and vein. Consequently, the elastic modulus plays a key role in enhancing the aerodynamic performance of FW-MAVs.

• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.748-755
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• 2006

In this paper, a trade-off design and fabrication of IPMC(Ionic Polymer Metal Composites) as an actuator for a flapping device have been described. Experiments for the internal solvent loss of IPMCs have been conducted for various combinations of cation and solvent in order to find out the best combination of cation and solvent for minimal solvent loss and higher actuation force. From the experiments, it was found that IPMCs with heavy water as their solvent could operate longer. Relations between length/thickness and tip force of IPMCs were also quantitatively identified for the actuator design from the tip force measurement of 200, 400, 640, and $800{\mu}m$ thick IPMCs. All IPMCs thicker than $200{\mu}m$ were processed by casting $Nafion^{TM}$ solution. The shorter and thicker IPMCs tended to generate higher actuation force but lower actuation displacement. To improve surface conductivity and to minimize solvent evaporation due to electrically heated electrodes, gold was sputtered on both surfaces of the cast IPMCs by the Physical Vapor Deposition(PVD) process. For amplification of a short IPMC's small actuation displacement to a large flapping motion, a rack-and-pinion type hinge was used in the flapping device. An insect wing was attached to the IPMC flapping mechanism for its flapping test. In this test, the wing flapping device using the $800{\mu}m$ thick IPMC. could create around $10^{\circ}{\sim}85^{\circ}$ flapping angles and $0.5{\sim}15Hz$ flapping frequencies by applying $3{\sim|}4V$.