Bird-inspired morphing wings: Design and experimental evaluation of a wing folding mechanism for pitch stability control

Anna Alvarez, Aimy Wissa

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Birds can land quickly and in confined spaces while maintaining control over their descent rate and location. In contrast, many bird-scale, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must land in a net, be caught by hand, or require a long runway for roll-out. Inspired by bird wings' geometry during short-distance landing or perching, this study investigates the aerodynamic performance of two M-shaped wing configurations. The M-shaped configurations represent different stages of the pitch-up phase during perching. Results from wind tunnel experiments of a simplified engineering wing show that the M-shaped wing configurations improve aerodynamic efficiency at high angles of attack by more than 80%. The results confirm that the M-shaped configurations aid in creating a pitch-up moment, and when deployed asymmetrically, the M-shaped wings can be used for roll and yaw control.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of ASME 2021 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2021
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791885499
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes
EventASME 2021 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Sep 14 2021Sep 15 2021

Publication series

NameProceedings of ASME 2021 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2021

Conference

ConferenceASME 2021 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems, SMASIS 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period9/14/219/15/21

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Artificial Intelligence

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