Longitudinal flight dynamics of hovering MAVs/Insects

Haithem E. Taha, Muhammad R. Hajj, Ali H. Nayfeh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

A formal derivation of the full longitudinal stability derivatives for hovering microair vehicles (MAVs)/insects is presented. A quasi-steady aerodynamic model that captures the dominant leading edge vortex and the rotational effects is used to obtain an analytical representation of the aerodynamic loads. Stability derivatives are derived and presented in terms of the system parameters. The aerodynamic-dynamic interaction is then validated in terms of the stability results against those obtained via direct numerical simulation of Navier-Stokes equations on the hawkmoth wings. Two approaches are found to trim MAVs at hover. The first one is to flap symmetrically with aligning the hinge line with the vehicle center of gravity. If this alignment is not possible, the MAV has to flap asymmetrically with a prescribed flapping offset angle to satisfy balance at hover. The symmetric flapping trim configuration (SFTC) leads to the vanishing of five cycle-averaged stability derivatives out of nine. Second, increasing the mean angle of attack and/or flapping frequency has similar effects on the stability derivatives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)970-978
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics
Volume37
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

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