Analysis of power and lift for a hovering piezoelectrically actuated flapping wing micro-aerial vehicle

A dynamic model of piezoelectrically actuated flapping flight was developed to find an actuator and wing combination capable of providing maximum net lift. Using empirically determined wing characteristics, a best-case wing was constructed and experimentally verified, and a driving point impedance model was developed to describe the dynamic properties of the wing as it moves through a fluid and generates lift. This impedance model was then used to find fluid induced damping and inertial terms, which were used to predict lift and complete the dynamic wing model of the best-case wing. Once the wing model was complete a lumped parameter actuator model was coupled to the wing through a kinematic linkage to search for a piezoelectric actuator capable of self-lifting flight. Optimizations using two piezoceramics, PZT-5H and single-crystal PZN-PT were performed. The results for PZT-5H, which was used in the previous ornithopter designs, confirmed that it is not power dense enough for self-lifting. The PZN-PT optimization however, found a range of actuator dimensions capable of self-lifting flight.