Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Piezoelectric Flapping Wing Micro-Air-Vehicles Propulsion

The flapping flight is advantageous for its superior maneuverability and much more aerodynamically efficiency for the small size UAV when compared to the conventional steady-state aerodynamics solution. Especially, it is appropriate for the Micro-air-vehicle (MAV) propulsion system, where the flapping wings can generate the required thrust. This paper investigated such solution, based on the piezoelectric patches, which are attached to the flexible plates, in combination with an appropriate amplification mechanisms. The numerical and experimental flow analyses have been carried out for the piezoelectric flapping plate, in order to characterize the fluid structure interaction induced by the swinging movement of the oscillating plate. The time-resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements were conducted on a piezoelectric flapping wing with finite span operating at 84.8 Hz in air in order to validate the numerical simulations, and the comparison showed good matching, as reported in this paper.