Passive Flow Control on an Airfoil Using Feather-Inspired Devices in Low Reynolds Flow

In recent years, flow control strategies are increasingly being explored due to the growing interest in vehicles operating in the low Reynolds number regime, where conventional lift systems such as fixed or rotary wings experience a reduction in their performance. A relevant application case is found in Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), which operate under unstable and complex flow conditions due to their small wing size and low flight speeds. To address this challenge, a type of natural passive flow control observed in birds stands out. It involves the lifting of certain feathers on their wings during pitch motion, under both steady and dynamic conditions, resulting in changes in the flow field around the wing and performance enhancement under specific conditions. Considering this, the present work investigates devices inspired by the involved feathers and analyzes their performance through wind tunnel experiments to evaluate the resulting aerodynamic behavior. Devices with different characteristics and locations were tested under both static and dynamic wing pitching motions to understand the mechanisms and aerodynamic effects produced, ultimately aiming to improve performance under challenging flow regimes.