Mount’s Passive Plunge Effects on Aerodynamic and Energy Harvesting of Membrane Wings

Flow-induced vibrations of membrane structures can be harnessed for aerodynamic improvement and energy harvesting of micro-air vehicles. This study investigates the effect of leading-edge (LE) and trailing-edge (TE) plunge degree of freedom, focusing on stiffness and mass parameters, on aerodynamic and energy-harvesting performance of a flexible membrane wing integrated with a PZT-PDMS piezoelectric harvester at 12° angle of attack, and on Reynolds number of 8000. Results demonstrate that LE and TE flow-induced plunge vibrations significantly improves the performance compared to the static baseline, with optimized structural parameters resulting in a 4.4% increase in aerodynamic performance and a 242% enhancement in energy-harvesting. Three distinct modes are identified: broadband first-mode (Case I), narrowband second-mode-dominant (Case II), and narrowband first-mode-dominant oscillations (Case III). Among them, Case III achieves the highest overall performance, followed by Case I, with Case II performing the least effectively. In Case III, the interaction between the first and second Fourier modes induces periodic snap-through motions, characterized by transitions between single- and double-peak waveforms, which further enhances both aerodynamic and energy-harvesting performance. This study underscores the critical role of LE and TE structural parameters in regulating membrane dynamics response and highlights the role of periodic snap-through motions in optimizing performance.