DESIGN, ANALYSIS, AND TESTING OF A FLAPPING WING MINIATURE AIR VEHICLE

Flapping wing miniature air vehicles (MAVs) offer several advantageous performance benefits, relative to fixed-wing and rotary-wing MAVs. The goal of this thesis is to design a flapping wing MAV that achieves improved performance by focusing on the flapping mechanism and the spar arrangement in the wings. Two variations of the flapping mechanism are designed and tested, both using compliance as a technique for improved functionality. In the design of these mechanisms, kinematics and dynamics simulation is used to evaluate how forces encountered during wing flapping affect the mechanism. Finite element analysis is used to evaluate the stress and deformation of the mechanism, such that a lightweight yet functional design can be realized. The wings are tested using experimental techniques. These techniques include high speed photography, stiffness measurement, and lift and thrust measurements. Experimentally measured force results are validated with a series of flight tests. A framework for iterative improvement of the MAV is described, that uses the results of physical testing and simulations to investigate the underlying causes of MAV performance aspects; and seeks to capture those beneficial aspects that will allow for performance improvements. Wings and flapping mechanisms designed in this thesis are used to realize a bird-inspired flapping wing miniature air vehicle. This vehicle is capable of radio controlled flights indoors and outdoors in winds up to 6.7m/s with controlled steering, ascent, and descent, as well as payload carrying abilities

IMPROVED PREDICTION OF FLAPPING WING AERIAL VEHICLE PERFORMANCE THROUGH COMPONENT INTERACTION MODELING

Flapping wing aerial vehicles offer the promise of versatile performance, however prediction of flapping wing aerial vehicle performance is a challenging task because of complex interconnectedness in vehicle functionality. To address this challenge, performance is estimated by using component-level modeling as a foundation. Experimental characterization of the drive motors, battery, and wings is performed to identify important functional characteristics and enable selection of appropriate modeling techniques. Component-level models are then generated that capture the performance of each vehicle component. Validation of each component-level model shows where errors are eliminated by capturing important dynamic functionality. System-level modeling is then performed by creating linkages between component-level models that have already been individually validated through experimental testing, leading to real-world functional constraints that are realized and correctly modeled at the system level. The result of this methodology is a system-level performance prediction that offers the ability to explore the effects of changing vehicle components as well as changing functional properties, while maintaining computational tractability. Simulated results are compared to experimental flight test data collected with an instrumented flapping wing aerial vehicle, and are shown to offer good accuracy in estimation of system-level performance properties