Computational analysis for flapping wing by coupling the geometrically exact beam and preconditioned Navier-Stokes solution

In a flapping wing micro air vehicle (MAV), inspired by an organism of either insects or birds, flexibility of the wing structure induces a crucial effect upon the vehicle performance. Thus, in an analysis upon the flapping wing MAV, coupling between aerodynamics and structural dynamics considering the wing flexibility will be a critical component. This paper presents an accurate computational approach to simulate a flapping wing by coupling between CFD and CSD. Non-linear structural analysis based on the geometrically exact beam formulation was used. Such non-linear beam analysis was coupled with preconditioned Navier-Stokes solutions. For a grid deformation in the aerodynamic analysis, the mesh shearing methodology was used. A coupling between the structural and aerodynamic analyses was conducted by adopting the implicit coupling approach. After that, an aeroelastic analysis was performed and the results are compared with the experimental results. However, the flapping wing configuration is not slender in reality and their vein section geometry is complex generally. Thus, to consider those features, the finite element analysis, beam and shell, based on a co-rotational (CR) theory was developed in parallel. Currently, the CR beam analysis with a warping DOF was developed and validated by comparing it with NASTRAN in static condition.