Design and Analysis of Flapping Wing Apparatus

Insects and birds demonstrate remarkable flight performance including stable hovering and exceptional maneuvering. To develop MAVs capable of operating at such desired performance parameters, testbeds have been designed. In this paper, different testbed apparatuses and their salient features have been explained. These testbeds are categorized based on the Degrees of Freedom they achieve and the medium in which they operate. In this research a suitable design has been finalized for the analysis and manufacturing of the desired apparatus termed as Flapperatus. MATLAB codes have been generated for different maneuvering conditions and the resulting kinematics have been imposed on the CAD file prepared for the selected design in a virtual environment. Time-specific plots for position, velocity, and acceleration have been developed. Simulations implying the kinematics on virtual apparatus have been created. Torque values at the actuation points have been calculated using the angular acceleration required for the respective maneuvers (e.g. torque ranges of ±0.02 Nm for pitch, ±0.01 Nm for plunge and ±0.004 Nm for stroke are calculated for figure-8 shape maneuver).