Design and Analysis of the Mechanism for Flapping-Wing Air Vehicle

The design and development of flapping-wing air-craft is an active research field. Because the existing flapping mechanisms mostly use symmetrical synchronous motion of flapping wings, they cannot be adjusted independently to deal with sudden situations and complex and changeable environments. Therefore, we design a flapping mechanism based on chain transmission that allows a single independent motor to generate different frequencies and adjustable frequency sub-modes for both wings. It uses chain transmission for continuous variable transmission, achieving asymmetric linear changes. According to the mechanism design model of the flapping mechanism, the maximum upward flapping angle, maximum downward flapping angle, and minimum transmission angle during the flapping process are calculated based on theoretical parameters. Finally, the kinematics and dynamic results are simulated by the simulation, and the simulation of the dynamic system shows that the flapping-wing aircraft can achieve different flapping frequencies for the two wings and obtain the relationship between the flapping motion parameters and time, which is consistent with the theoretical calculations. The flapping mechanism design of the aircraft can effectively achieve the desired wing flapping motion. A distinctive feature of this mechanism is that it can change the flapping frequency of both wings separately or independently in flight, which not only can dynamically correct the asymmetry of the double-wing flapping but also can respond to external disturbances and utilizes wind power, thereby improving flight characteristics, enhancing maneuverability, and improving adaptability to complex environments.