Aerodynamic performance research of micro flapping-wing in low Reynolds number flow

The aerodynamic performance of micro flapping-wing in low Reynolds number flow is researched by numerical simulation. The numerical method is solving preconditioned Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations based on structured chimera grid method. The spatial discretization is cell centered finite volume method. The dual time method is used in unsteady iteration. The validity of code is verified by good accordance between experiment results of reference and calculated results of this paper. The key parameters, including angle of attack, pitching angle, plunging angle, and reduced frequency are researched. Then the folding flapping mode is researched. The results show that the angle of attack, pitching angle and flapping mode affect the lift very much, but the pitching angle and reduced frequency affect the thrust a lot. Special designed flapping motion can improve the aerodynamic performance of flapping wing. The research of this paper is helpful to understand the mechanism of flapping flight and useful to design flapping wing micro air vehicles.