• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2015

This paper investigates the longitudinal flight dynamics and stability of flapping-wing micro air vehicles. Periodic external forces and moments due to the flapping motion characterize the dynamics of this system as NLTP (Non Linear Time Periodic). However, the averaging theorem can be applied to an NLTP system to obtain an NLTI (Non Linear Time Invariant) system which allows us to use a standard eigen value analysis to assess the stability of the system with linearization around a reference point. In this paper, we investigate the dynamics and stability of a hawkmoth-scale flapping-wing air vehicle by establishing an LTI (Linear Time Invariant) system model around a hovering condition. Also, a direct time integration of full nonlinear equations of motion of the flapping-wing micro air vehicle is conducted to see how the longitudinal flight dynamics appear in the time domain beyond the reference point, i.e. hovering condition. In the study, the flapping-wing air vehicle exhibited three distinct dynamic modes of motion in the longitudinal plane of motion: two stable subsidence modes and one unstable oscillatory mode. The unstable oscillatory mode is found to be a combination of a pitching velocity state and a forward/backward velocity state.

• Composites Research
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.7-12
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• 2009

This paper deals with a fabrication method of composite hinge mechanisms for flapping-wing micro air vehicles. The fabrication process includes curing process of Graphite/Epoxyprepregs, laser cutting for high fabrication repeatability, laminating of Graphite/Epoxy prepregs with Kapton film which is used for flexure, and so on. The fabricated hinge mechanism was attached with PUMPS actuators and the measured flapping angle was $173^{\circ}$ when driving voltage was 300V 170Hz.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.837-847
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• 2020

A velocity profile for flapping flight is optimized to increase the power efficiency of 20g weighted flapping wing micro air vehicle in hover. The experimental optimization of flapping velocity profile is carried out with a real sized flapper, and various velocity profiles are realized by non-circular gear. Kriging with noise is adopted as a meta model of the profile optimization to reflect the data noise by uncertainty. The optimization results confirm that the flapping efficiency (thrust-to-power ratio) is substantially improved (11.3%) through the elastic deformation that carries the angular kinetic energy from previous stroke.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2021

The flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FW-MAV) in this study utilizes the cambered wings made of quite flexible material. Similar to the flying creatures, the present cambered wing uses three different materials at its leading edge, vein, and membrane. And it is constrained in various conditions. Since passive rotation uses the flexible nature of the wing, it is important to select an appropriate material for a wing. A three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction solver is developed for a realistic modeling of the cambered wing. Then a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the aerodynamic performance in terms of the elastic modulus of leading edge and vein. Consequently, the elastic modulus plays a key role in enhancing the aerodynamic performance of FW-MAVs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.905-911
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• 2011

With the progress of micro actuator technology, studies on the development of micro air flapping wing vehicles are actively undergoing. In the present study, the changes of both lift and thrust characteristics of the wings are investigated using a boundary element method. Lift of the heaving wing is not generated when the wing is beating with smaller frequencies than 1 Hz. Thrust increases with amplitude and frequency. As the wing's taper and aspect ratios increase, both lift and thrust also increase. Results on the pitching oscillation and flapping motion will be included in the future work.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.709-712
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• 2003

The existing technical limitation makes engineer imitate nature to solve engineering problems. Recently Micro Air Vehicle(MAV) imitating the mechanism of birds or insects is being developed. Especially Ultra Flite supported by DARPA is studying hummingbird aerodynamics to relate that information to MAV. To drive MAV bender piezoelectric(PZT) actuators are used due to the convinience of control and the small size. But the displacement of the PZT actuators are very small, and the wing driving mechanism which amplifies the stroke generated by the PZT actuators has constraints in design and manufacture because of the small dimension. In this paper a wing design concept and a efficient driving mechanism are proposed. Electroactive polymers(EAPs) are used as wing mechanism actuators. Using OpenGL the mechanisms are simulated graphically. Also a prototype actuator is being developed and verified by digital Mockup with CATIA. Basic kinematics of the mechanism is studied.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.238-249
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• 2012

Flight test of flapping micro air vehicles (FMAVs) is carried out using an instrumented measurement system to obtain various engineering parameters and hence to assess the flight performance of the vehicles through the data investigation. An indoor flight test facility equipped with a motion capture system and tracking cameras is used for the work presented in this paper. Maneuvers including straight-level flight, ground flapping, takeoff and landing are tested. Spatial position and orientation data are obtained from the retro-reflective tracking markers attached to the vehicles. Subsequent test analysis is carried out by generating performance parameters from raw data and then assessing the flight performance by comparison of the vehicles. The main findings of this work confirm that the test method and procedures presented here enable the systematic numerical data measurement and assessment of the flying performances of these vehicles, and show the applicability for the test and evaluation of general flapping MAVs.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.289-296
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• 2017

In this paper, geometrical optimization for newly designed flapping mechanism for insect-like micro air vehicle is presented. The mechanism uses strings to convert rotation of motor to reciprocating wing motion to reduce the total weight and inertial force. The governing algorithm of movement of the mechanism is established considering the characteristic of string that only tensile force can be acted by string, to optimize the kinematics. Modified pattern search method which is complemented to avoid converging into local optimum is adopted to the geometrical optimization of the mechanism. Then, prototype of the optimized geometry is produced and experimented to check the feasibility of the mechanism and the optimization method. The results from optimization and experiment shows good agreement in flapping amplitude and other wing kinematics. Further research will be conducted on dynamic analysis of the mechanism and detailed specification of the prototype.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.311-314
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• 2007

Aerodynamic characteristics of an insect-type flapping wings were carried out to obtain the design parameters of Micro Hovering Air Vehicle. A pair of wing model was scaled up about 200 times and applied two pairs of 4-bar linkage mechanism to mimic the wing motion of a fruit fly(Drosophila). To verify the Weis-Fogh mechanism, a pair of wings revolved on the 'Delayed Rotation'. Lift and drag were measured in conditions of the Reynolds number based on wing tip velocity of about 1,200 and the maximum angle of attack of 40$40^{\circ}$. Inertia forces of a wing model were also measured by using a 99.98% vacuum chamber and subtracted on measured data in air. In the present study, high lift effect of Weis-Fogh mechanism was appeared in the middle of upstroke motion.