Introduction

Low-Reynolds-number aerodynamics is important to a number of natural and man-made flyers. Currently, this is a topic under active study in the aerospace engineering community, motivated by interest in micro air vehicles (MAVs), and has been increasing rapidly. Our research suggests that it is more practical to employ bio-mimetic technology to utilize insect forms such as the dragonfly for specific functional parts of conventional robots only or to comprehensively refine existing engineering instead of directly imitating entire complex functions of living creatures.

Methods

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) will be utilised to investigate the aerodynamic forces over corrugated and tandem wings. Once the results are verified and validated, finite element analysis (FEA) will then be used to study the effects of structural loading on the wings. Topology optimisation algorithms will then be used to design lightweight and load-bearable structural elements. The next phase of the project will involve building and flight-testing (indoor/outdoor) various prototypes of flying robots with an emphasis on material selection and construction techniques.

Results

This is an ongoing research project that was recently initiated . We are currently working on the CFD part by conducting studies on Reynolds number (Re) effects and angle of attack (AoA) to gain a better understanding of the benefits of tandem and corrugated wings in terms of flight stability and drag reduction. We are aiming to include the results from the FEA and topology optimisation studies in the upcoming conference.

Conclusion

Our research suggests that the majority of the work carried out on the design and development of flying robots focuses on the direct imitation of entire functions of living creatures. In this paper, we presented a more practical approach by employing biomimetics to utilise the dragonfly wing form and comprehensively refine the design of fixed-wing flying robots.