Towards locust-inspired gliding wing prototypes for micro aerial vehicle applications

Abstract

In aviation, gliding is the most economical mode of flight explicitly appreciated by natural fliers. They achieve it by high-performance wing structures evolved over millions of years in nature. Among other prehistoric beings, locust is a perfect example of such natural glider capable of endured transatlantic flights that could inspire a practical solution to achieve similar capabilities on micro aerial vehicles. An investigation in this study demonstrates the effects of haemolymph on the flexibility of several flying insect wings proving that many species exist with further simplistic yet well-designed wing structures. However, biomimicry of such aerodynamic and structural properties is hindered by the limitations of modern as well as conventional fabrication technologies in terms of availability and precision, respectively. Therefore, here we adopt finite-element analysis to investigate the manufacturing-worthiness of a three-dimensional digitally reconstructed locust wing, and propose novel combinations of economical and readily available manufacturing methods to develop the model into prototypes that are structurally similar to their counterparts in nature while maintaining the optimum gliding ratio previously obtained in the aerodynamic simulations. The former is assessed here via an experimental analysis of the flexural stiffness and maximum deformation rate as EIs = 1.34 × 10−4 Nm2, EIc = 5.67 × 10−6 Nm2 and greater than 148.2%, respectively. Ultimately, a comparative study of the mechanical properties reveals the feasibility of each prototype for gliding micro aerial vehicle applications.

Keywords

• bioinspired gliding wing prototypes
• finite-element analysis
• flexural stiffness
• additive manufacturing
• vacuum thermoforming