Modeling of Active Control of the Wing Angle of Attack for a Flapping Wing Micro-Aerial Vehicle

In this research, we study the aerodynamics of a flapping wing micro-aerial vehicle (FWMAV). We create a simulation and analytical model of active control of the wing's angle of attack and compare the two methods. The flapping mechanism for this FWMAV is comparable to that of a hummingbird. The inclusion of a mechanism to change the angle of attack adds to the weight of the vehicle, requiring a higher lift force. Therefore, the added benefit of actively changing the angle of attack is to be large enough to validate the added weight of the components required to make this active control possible. The lift and drag coefficients are calculated from the simulation (via COMSOL software). The lift and drag forces of the FWMAV wing found through the simulation and analytical study are compared to ensure viability of the theoretical model. Two different wing shapes are modeled and analyzed to ensure robustness of the two methods. In this project, the effect of the active wing on the FWMAV is looked at for the hovering state specifically. The analytical force results for both wing shapes are comparable to the force results obtained from the COMSOL simulation. The lift force plots of both the analytical method and simulation show similar behavior to lift force plots gathered from studies conducted on hummingbirds in hovering flight. These analytical and simulation results will be compared with the results of the future experimental testing in order to validate our analytical approach.