Motion Attitude and Aerodynamic Characteristics Research of Flapping Wings Driven by Micro Servoactuator

Abstract

Compared to the traditional flapping-wing structure with single motion mode, a micro servoactuator driven Flapping-Wing Air Vehicle (FWAV) breaks free from the limitations imposed by the motion parameters of the crank-connecting rod mechanism. It allows for simultaneous control of wings’ position and velocity attitude through pulse width modulation, showcasing unrivaled controllability and promising extensive applications. However, this method of motion control also brings new challenges to the design of the wings’ motion parameters. This study seeks to investigate the relationship between the motion parameters of micro servoactuator driven FWAV and its aerodynamic characteristics, then explore a servo control method that can optimize its thrust-producing performance. To achieve this, this paper involves the establishment of Amplitude Loss Model (ALM), Flapping Wing Dynamic Model (FWDM), and Power Load Model (PLM), followed by motion capture experiments, dynamic monitoring experiments, and power monitoring experiments. Experimental results show that the proposed modeling method, which fully considers the amplitude loss effect and advanced twisting effect in flapping-wing motion, can accurately calculate thrust, power, and power load, with prediction errors of less than 10%, 5% and 13%, respectively. This high-precision model can effectively optimize motion parameters, allowing for better performance of flapping-wing motion.