Computational Analysis of Morphing Geometry Inspired From Butterfly Wings in the Application Micro Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

Kishore Kumar, Srinivas Pendyala

This paper presents a numerical analysis aerodynamic performance of a morphed geometry and observations with regard to MAV development and flight behavior of butterfly wings. The performance of the morphed wing structure is analyzed using numerical simulations. At different angles of attack, we measured the L/D ratios of the morphed wings at 2, 4 and 6 ms−1. In order to get a better grasp of the flow patterns over these wings using (CFD), we have performed wind tunnel simulations, with a focus on geometry of the biggest wing chords and maximum spans, to de- termine the flow parameters. In relation to their gliding performance, we compare the shapes of the wing of four but- terfly species. In this study, experiments are conducted to understand how different wing shapes affect aerodynamics. The in-flight measurements reported in the biology literature are correlated with wing orientation and flight speed. A MAV design benchmark can also be used to assess the performance of these shapes in terms of gliding performance.

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