Vortex Formation and Force Generation Mechanisms of the DelFly II in Hovering Flight

This paper addresses the unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms in the hovering flight of the DelFly II flapping-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (Stereo-PIV) were carried out around the wings at a high framing rate. Thrust-force was measured to investigate the relation between the vortex dynamics and the...

Wing flexibility effects in clap-and-fling

The work explores the use of time-resolved tomographic PIV measurements to study a flapping-wing model, the related vortex generation mechanisms and the effect of wing flexibility on the clap-and-fling movement in particular. An experimental setup is designed and realized in a water tank by use of a single wing model and a mirror plate to...

Analysis of tail effects in flapping flight

Numerical simulations have been performed to examine the interference effects between an upstream flapping airfoil and a downstream stationary airfoil in a tandem configuration at a Reynolds number of 1000, which is around the regime of small flapping micro aerial vehicles. The objective is to investigate the effect of the distance of the tail...