A wind tunnel investigation of the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of bionic flapping wings with three-dimensional complex motion

The bionic flapping wing aircraft realizes flight by imitating the structure and flapping mode of birds. In this paper, a three-dimensional composite motion aerodynamic analysis model of a bionic flapping wing is established. The diverting field and flapping wing grid are divided up using dynamic hybrid grid technology. The flow field of the flapping wing is analyzed by solving the Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation combined with the Boussinesq hypothesis. The lift of the flapping wing under different flutter frequencies and incoming wind speeds is studied under the asymmetric flutter condition. In order to verify the accuracy of the aerodynamic simulation results, a flapping-wing shrinking-ratio model prototype is made, and low-speed wind tunnel experiments are carried out to test the changes in the flight lift of the wing at different flutter frequencies and angles of attack. A comparative analysis of the wind tunnel experiment and the aerodynamic simulation results shows that when the flapping frequency (1–5 Hz) and incoming wind speed (1–5 m/s) increase, the lift force generated by the wing flapping increases. Due to the deviation between the experimental sample airfoil area and the simulated airfoil area, as well as the wing-driven fuselage vibration during the experiment, a sensor error is produced, resulting in a deviation of about 1 N between the experimental result curve and the simulation result curve. However, the aerodynamic characteristics obtained from the aerodynamic simulation analysis are basically consistent with the aerodynamic change law measured in the wind tunnel experiment.