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Full Length Article | Open Access

Effects of dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch on flapping-wing forward flights

Kang LIUa,, Bifeng SONGa,b,c( ), Ang CHENa, Zhihe WANGa, Dong XUEa,d, Wenqing YANGa,c
School of Aeronautics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
Intelligent Aircraft Research Center, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu 610031, China
Research & Development Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518057, China
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China

Peer review under responsibility of Editorial Committee of CJA.

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Abstract

Birds and bats retract and stretch their wings dynamically during each flap in level flights, implying intriguing mechanisms for the aerodynamic performance improvement of flapping wings. A numerical investigation into the aerodynamic effects of such bio-inspired concept in forward flights has been performed based on a three-dimensional wing in plunging motion and a two-section wing in flapping motion. The currently considered Reynolds number and Strouhal number are Re = 1.5 × 105 and St = 0.3, respectively. During the research, the mean angle of attack is varied in relatively wide ranges to achieve lift-thrust interconversion for the wings. The conclusive results show that dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch has induced three absolutely desirable scenarios for the oscillating wings in forward flights, namely producing more lift and consuming less power for a given thrust generation, producing more thrust and consuming less power for a given lift generation, and producing more lift and more thrust while consuming less power. Furthermore, the morphing wings have alleviated periodical aerodynamic load fluctuations compared with the non-morphing baseline. The mechanism of the aerodynamic effects of the bionic morphing mode is analyzed with the aid of field visualization. The current article is the first to reveal the absolute advantages of the bionic spanwise morphing. Hopefully, it may help comprehend the behaviors of natural fliers and provide inspirations for performance enhancement of micro artificial flapping-wing vehicles.

Keywords

AerodynamicsBionicVortexMorphing wingFlapping wingFlight

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Chinese Journal of Aeronautics
Volume 37 Issue 4,
April 2024
Pages 181-202
DOI: 10.1016/j.cja.2024.01.006
Cite this article:
LIU K, SONG B, CHEN A, et al. Effects of dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch on flapping-wing forward flights. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2024, 37(4): 181-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cja.2024.01.006

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Received: 13 April 2023
Revised: 25 June 2023
Accepted: 10 August 2023
Published: 10 January 2024
© 2023 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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