Experimental and Analytical Pressure Characterization of a Rigid Flapping Wing for Ornithopter Development

Control of ornithopters is challenging due to the unsteady flow generated by the flapping wings. The research presented in this paper is aimed at developing a sensor-based control methodology. Specifically, a distributed pressure sensing system embedded in the flapping wing surfaces is utilized to provide real-time aerodynamic force estimates to facilitate the development of feedback for an ornithopter autopilot system. This paper describes the design, construction, and testing of a customized flapping mechanism with flat plate ornithopter wings featuring embedded pressure lines. Under varied flapping frequencies and free-stream conditions, cycle-averaged pressure distributions over the wings using external high-precision pressure sensors are presented.