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Bio-inspired micro air vehicles (MAVs) with corrugated and profiled wings show a 50% performance increase. This study investigates MAVs, not just wings, for optimized low-Reynolds-number aerodynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Bio-inspired Design

Background:

  • Insects like dragonflies utilize wings with rigid corrugations and flexible profiling.
  • Understanding these features is crucial for optimizing low-Reynolds-number aerodynamics in micro air vehicles (MAVs).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally investigate the aerodynamic performance of whole MAVs with bio-inspired corrugated and profiled wings.
  • To analyze the interaction between tip vortices and wing surface flow at high angles of incidence.

Main Methods:

  • Wind tunnel experiments were conducted on MAVs with a low aperture-to-chord ratio planform.
  • Aerodynamic loads (lift and drag) were measured using a force balance.
  • Local velocity fields were captured using particle image velocimetry (PIV).

Main Results:

  • The combined wing corrugation and profiling significantly enhanced MAV performance by approximately 50% compared to flat-plate wings.
  • Beneficial interactions between tip vortices and large-scale flow separation were observed.

Conclusions:

  • Bio-inspired wing designs featuring corrugation and profiling offer substantial performance improvements for MAVs.
  • These findings are particularly relevant for low-aspect-ratio MAVs operating at low Reynolds numbers.