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Article

Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between the Forewing and Hindwing of a Beetle-Type Ornithopter

Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Aerospace 2018, 5(3), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030083
Submission received: 28 June 2018 / Revised: 30 July 2018 / Accepted: 6 August 2018 / Published: 8 August 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bio-Inspired Aerospace System)

Abstract

Beetles have attracted attention from researchers due to their unique combination of a passively flapping forewing and an actively flapping hindwing during flight. Because the wing loads of beetles are larger than the wing loads of other insects, the mechanism of beetle flight is potentially useful for modeling a small aircraft with a large weight. In this paper, we present a beetle-type ornithopter in which the wings are geometrically and kinematically modeled after an actual beetle. Furthermore, the forewing is designed to be changeable between no-wing, flapping-wing, or fixed-wing configurations. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) differential pressure sensors were attached to both the forewing and the hindwing to evaluate the aerodynamic performance during flight. Whether the forewing is configured as a flapping wing or a fixed wing, it generated constant positive differential pressure during forward flight, whereas the differential pressure on the hindwing varied with the flapping motion during forward flight. The experimental results suggest that beetles utilize the forewing for effective vertical force enhancement.
Keywords: beetle; ornithopter; MEMS; differential pressure sensor beetle; ornithopter; MEMS; differential pressure sensor
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MDPI and ACS Style

Takahashi, H.; Abe, K.; Takahata, T.; Shimoyama, I. Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between the Forewing and Hindwing of a Beetle-Type Ornithopter. Aerospace 2018, 5, 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030083

AMA Style

Takahashi H, Abe K, Takahata T, Shimoyama I. Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between the Forewing and Hindwing of a Beetle-Type Ornithopter. Aerospace. 2018; 5(3):83. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030083

Chicago/Turabian Style

Takahashi, Hidetoshi, Kosuke Abe, Tomoyuki Takahata, and Isao Shimoyama. 2018. "Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between the Forewing and Hindwing of a Beetle-Type Ornithopter" Aerospace 5, no. 3: 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030083

APA Style

Takahashi, H., Abe, K., Takahata, T., & Shimoyama, I. (2018). Experimental Study of the Aerodynamic Interaction between the Forewing and Hindwing of a Beetle-Type Ornithopter. Aerospace, 5(3), 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace5030083

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