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Preliminary design of a small-sized flapping UAV: I. Aerodynamic performance and static longitudinal stability

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An Erratum to this article was published on 07 November 2016

Abstract

The preliminary design of a biologically inspired flapping UAV is presented. Starting from a set of initial design specifications, namely: weight, maximum flapping frequency and minimum hand-launch velocity of the model, a parametric numerical study of the proposed avian model is conducted in terms of the aerodynamic performance and longitudinal static stability in gliding and flapping conditions. The model shape, size and flight conditions are chosen to approximate those of a gull. The wing kinematics is selected after conducting an extensive parametric study, starting from the simplest flapping pattern and progressively adding more degrees of freedom and control parameters until reaching a functional and realistic wing kinematics. The results give us an initial insight of the aerodynamic performance and longitudinal static stability of a biomimetic flapping UAV, designed at minimum flight velocity and maximum flapping frequency.

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Author notes

  1. C. Pacioselli

    Present address: Oto Melara S.P.A., via Valdilocchi 15, 19136, La Spezia, Italy

  2. F. Negrello

    Present address: Department of Advanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Morego 30, 16163, Genova, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DICCA, University of Genoa, via Montallegro 1, 16145, Genova, Italy

    J. E. Guerrero, J. O. Pralits & A. Bottaro

  2. DIME, University of Genoa, via all’Opera Pia 15, 16145, Genova, Italy

    P. Silvestri & A. Lucifredi

Authors
  1. J. E. Guerrero
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  2. C. Pacioselli
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  3. J. O. Pralits
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  4. F. Negrello
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  5. P. Silvestri
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  6. A. Lucifredi
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  7. A. Bottaro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Bottaro.

Additional information

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11012-016-0571-3.

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Guerrero, J.E., Pacioselli, C., Pralits, J.O. et al. Preliminary design of a small-sized flapping UAV: I. Aerodynamic performance and static longitudinal stability. Meccanica 51, 1343–1367 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-015-0298-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11012-015-0298-6

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