Optimal FWMAV Wing Design for a Combination of Energy-Effective Hovering and Roll Control

Abstract

Energy-effective hovering and active flight control are of paramount importance for the usefulness of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FWMAVs). Recent studies have focused on separate parts (e.g., wing planform design, wing kinematics, or flight control) rather than on the complete system. This work presents a combined approach to find an optimal wing design (i.e., wing planform and pitching kinematics) for energy-effective hovering and roll control. Relatively simple mathematical descriptions are used for the kinematics, the aerodynamics and the roll motion to allow its use in optimization techniques. Results show that the wing design depends significantly on the relative importance of either energy-effective hovering or effective roll control during the optimization. The roll control effectiveness increases if the wing area around the wingtip is increased to push the center of lift outwards. Additionally, we show that the most effective control variable, to enforce the required body moment for the roll motion, depends strongly on the wing design. In conclusion, flapping wing design requires, in general, a combined approach to guarantee both energy-effective hovering and effective roll control.