Low-order modeling of the unsteady aerodynamics in flapping wings

The investigation of unsteady aerodynamics is becoming a more attractive topic of research in enhancing flight capabilities. Natural flyers such as birds and insects can undergo flight maneuvers that are very difficult or not possible with current aerodynamic understanding. Modeling the unsteady phenomena produced by flapping wings is important to the understanding of these maneuvers, with possible applications to aircraft flight. We investigate reduced-order modeling of the unsteady aerodynamics generated by flapping wings using the two separate approaches of rotational lift and dynamic stall. A low order quasi steady model based on rotational lift and a revised version incorporating dynamic stall are presented. Both concepts are analyzed using simulated results, with experimental data measured with matching kinematics as a basis of comparison. This combined model is then used to conduct parametric studies of the time averaged aerodynamic forces over varying kinematic variables.