Preliminary Design and Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis of Flapping Wing of Micro Aerial Vehicle for Low Reynolds Numbers Regime

Abstract

This research describes the investigation of the behavior of the flow over a 2D Flapping airfoil for flapping wing of Micro Aerial Vehicles (FWMAV) at very low Reynolds number regieme. The behavior of the flow wake at the trailing edge is studied by the analysis of streamlines for each incidence angle and results are compared by the study of two different flapping airfoils at two different fluids. The use of Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) simulation has shown accuracy in predicting lift and drag forces at different angles of attack for upstroke and down stroke. This work simulates a classical flow pattern (Von Karman Street) that can form as fluid flows past a flapping NACA0012 airfoil, and S1223 airfoil at low Reynolds numbers and low velocities. These two airfoils have been selected and investigated by using basic computational fluid dynamics and fluid structure interaction modules. The S1223 airfoil, designed by University of Illinois at Urbana and the NACA0012 airfoil were selected for their high lift characteristics at low Reynolds number regime. Simulations were also conducted to check the lift and drag forces for both airfoils at low Reynolds number regime. Velocity distributions were analyzed at different angles of attack for these airfoils. The magnitude and the frequencies of the oscillation generated by the fluid around the airfoils were computed and compared between the airfoils.