Numerical Investigation of the Response of Active Bend-Twist PZT Actuator

Volume 1: Development and Characterization of Multifunctional Materials; Modeling, Simulation and Control of Adaptive Systems; Structural Health Monitoring ◽

10.1115/smasis2012-8226 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Jaret C. Riddick ◽

Asha J. Hall ◽

Oliver J. Myers

Keyword(s):

Numerical Investigation ◽

Insect Flight ◽

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Control Surface ◽

Finite Element Analyses ◽

Pzt Actuator ◽

Simultaneous Excitation ◽

Flexural Response ◽

Twist Actuation

Army combat operations have placed a high premium on reconnaissance missions for micro air vehicles (MAVs). An analysis of insect flight indicates that in addition to the bending excitation (flapping), simultaneous excitation of the twisting degree-of-freedom is required to manipulate the control surface adequately. By adding a layer of angled piezoelectric segments to a Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (also referred to as PZT) bimorph actuator, a bend-twist coupling may be introduced to the flexural response of the layered PZT, thereby creating a biaxial actuator capable of driving wing oscillation in flapping wing MAVs. The present study presents numerical investigation of the response of functionally–modified bimorph designs intended for active bend-twist actuation of cm-scale flapping wing devices. The relationships of geometry and orientation of the angled segments with bimorph bend-twist response will be presented using results of finite-element analyses.

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Active Bend-Twist PZT Actuator for Centimeter-Scale Flapping Wing Micro-Air Vehicle

ASME 2011 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, Volume 1 ◽

10.1115/smasis2011-5085 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Asha J. Hall ◽

Jaret C. Riddick

Keyword(s):

Insect Flight ◽

Leading Edge ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Micro Air Vehicle ◽

Degree Of Freedom ◽

Control Surface ◽

Simultaneous Excitation ◽

Flexural Response ◽

Air Vehicle ◽

Twist Actuation

The present study focuses on development of a flapping wing micro-air vehicle (FWMAV) that employs a piezoelectric actuator to drive the leading edge of the wing. An analysis of insect flight indicates that in addition to the bending excitation (flapping), simultaneous excitation of the twisting degree-of-freedom is required to adequately manipulate the control surface. A functionally-modified piezoelectric bimorph composed of Pb(Zr0.55Ti0.45)O3 (PZT) is being used to produce two degree-of-freedom motion, namely the flapping and twisting facilitated by an off-axis layer of piezoelectric segments affixed to the top surface of a traditional bimorph actuator. The modification of the top surface of a traditional PZT bimorph actuator introduces active bend-twist coupling to the flexural response of the resulting layered PZT. This paper presents analytical and experimental investigation of functionally-modified bimorph designs intended for active bend-twist actuation of cm-scale flapping wing devices.

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Four-Bar Linkage Mechanism for Insectlike Flapping Wings in Hover: Concept and an Outline of Its Realization

Journal of Mechanical Design ◽

10.1115/1.1829091 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 127 (4) ◽

pp. 817-824 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Rafał Z˙bikowski ◽

Cezary Galin´ski ◽

Christopher B. Pedersen

Keyword(s):

Insect Flight ◽

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Flapping Wings ◽

Test Bed ◽

Linkage Mechanism ◽

Actual Design ◽

Straight Line Mechanism ◽

Four Bar Linkage ◽

Air Vehicles

This paper describes the concept of a four-bar linkage mechanism for flapping wing micro air vehicles and outlines its design, implementation, and testing. Micro air vehicles (MAVs) are defined as flying vehicles ca. 150 mm in size (handheld), weighing 50–100 g, and are developed to reconnoiter in confined spaces (inside buildings, tunnels, etc.). For this application, insectlike flapping wings are an attractive solution and, hence, the need to realize the functionality of insect flight by engineering means. Insects fly by oscillating (plunging) and rotating (pitching) their wings through large angles, while sweeping them forward and backward. During this motion, the wing tip approximately traces a figure eight and the wing changes the angle of attack (pitching) significantly. The aim of the work described here was to design and build an insectlike flapping mechanism on a 150 mm scale. The main purpose was not only to construct a test bed for aeromechanical research on hover in this mode of flight, but also to provide a precursor design for a future flapping-wing MAV. The mechanical realization was to be based on a four-bar linkage combined with a spatial articulation. Two instances of idealized figure eights were considered: (i) Bernoulli’s lemniscate and (ii) Watt’s sextic. The former was found theoretically attractive, but impractical, while the latter was both theoretically and practically feasible. This led to a combination of Watt’s straight-line mechanism with a drive train utilizing a Geneva wheel and a spatial articulation. The actual design, implementation, and testing of this concept are briefly described at the end of the paper.

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Insect-like flapping wing mechanism based on a double spherical Scotch yoke

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2005.0031 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 223-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Cezary Galiński ◽

Rafał Żbikowski

Keyword(s):

Insect Flight ◽

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Concept Design ◽

Test Bed ◽

Insect Wing ◽

Flying Insects ◽

Adjustable Mechanism ◽

Air Vehicles

We describe the rationale, concept, design and implementation of a fixed-motion (non-adjustable) mechanism for insect-like flapping wing micro air vehicles in hover, inspired by two-winged flies (Diptera). This spatial (as opposed to planar) mechanism is based on the novel idea of a double spherical Scotch yoke. The mechanism was constructed for two main purposes: (i) as a test bed for aeromechanical research on hover in flapping flight, and (ii) as a precursor design for a future flapping wing micro air vehicle. Insects fly by oscillating (plunging) and rotating (pitching) their wings through large angles, while sweeping them forwards and backwards. During this motion the wing tip approximately traces a ‘figure-of-eight’ or a ‘banana’ and the wing changes the angle of attack (pitching) significantly. The kinematic and aerodynamic data from free-flying insects are sparse and uncertain, and it is not clear what aerodynamic consequences different wing motions have. Since acquiring the necessary kinematic and dynamic data from biological experiments remains a challenge, a synthetic, controlled study of insect-like flapping is not only of engineering value, but also of biological relevance. Micro air vehicles are defined as flying vehicles approximately 150 mm in size (hand-held), weighing 50–100 g, and are developed to reconnoitre in confined spaces (inside buildings, tunnels, etc.). For this application, insect-like flapping wings are an attractive solution and hence the need to realize the functionality of insect flight by engineering means. Since the semi-span of the insect wing is constant, the kinematics are spatial; in fact, an approximate figure-of-eight/banana is traced on a sphere. Hence a natural mechanism implementing such kinematics should be (i) spherical and (ii) generate mathematically convenient curves expressing the figure-of-eight/banana shape. The double spherical Scotch yoke design has property (i) by definition and achieves (ii) by tracing spherical Lissajous curves.

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Wing Design, Fabrication, and Analysis for an X-Wing Flapping-Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Drones ◽

10.3390/drones3030065 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 65 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Boon Hong Cheaw ◽

Hann Woei Ho ◽

Elmi Abu Bakar

Keyword(s):

Insect Flight ◽

Micro Air Vehicles ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Indoor Environments ◽

Wing Design ◽

Thrust Generation ◽

Thrust Measurement ◽

Glue Method ◽

Controller Board ◽

Full Throttle

Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicles (FW-MAVs), inspired by small insects, have limitless potential to be capable of performing tasks in urban and indoor environments. Through the process of mimicking insect flight, however, there are a lot of challenges for successful flight of these vehicles, which include their design, fabrication, control, and propulsion. To this end, this paper investigates the wing design and fabrication of an X-wing FW-MAV and analyzes its performance in terms of thrust generation. It was designed and developed using a systematic approach. Two pairs of wings were fabricated with a traditional cut-and-glue method and an advanced vacuum mold method. The FW-MAV is equipped with inexpensive and tiny avionics, such as the smallest Arduino controller board, a remote-control receiver, standard sensors, servos, a motor, and a 1-cell battery. Thrust measurement was conducted to compare the performance of different wings at full throttle. Overall, this FW-MAV produces maximum vertical thrust at a pitch angle of 10 degrees. The wing having stiffeners and manufactured using the vacuum mold produces the highest thrust among the tested wings.

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FLAPPING WING DEVICES FOR MARS EXPLORATION

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.4035 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Asier Ania ◽

Dominique Poirel ◽

Marie-Josée Potvin ◽

Steeve Montminy

Keyword(s):

Reynolds Number ◽

Insect Flight ◽

Low Reynolds Number ◽

Flapping Wing ◽

Low Density ◽

Mars Exploration ◽

Unsteady Aerodynamic ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Low Reynolds

The use of an aerial vehicle would greatly enhance the domain of exploration on Mars. The main constraint in such a design would be the extreme Martian environment. The low-density atmosphere suggests the use of a low Reynolds number flight regime modeled after flapping wing insect flight. This flapping wing flight employs several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms; delayed stall, wake capture, and rotational mechanisms. Two prototypes, a flapping wing and a rotary-flapping wing hybrid, have been built and will be tested in order to quantify the 'overall lift' generated and allow us to evaluate the efficacy of flapping wing flight on Mars.

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