Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects

The actuated abdomens of insects such as dragonflies have long been suggested to play a role in optimisation and control of flight. We have examined the effect of this type of actuation in the simplified case of a small fixed wing aircraft to determine whether energetic advantages exist in normal fl...

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Main Authors: Ogunwa, Titilayo, Blake, McIvor, Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa, Abdullah, Ermira Junita, Chahl, Javaan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/1/Longitudinal%20actuated%20abdomen%20.pdf
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author Ogunwa, Titilayo
Blake, McIvor
Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa
Abdullah, Ermira Junita
Chahl, Javaan
author_facet Ogunwa, Titilayo
Blake, McIvor
Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa
Abdullah, Ermira Junita
Chahl, Javaan
author_sort Ogunwa, Titilayo
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The actuated abdomens of insects such as dragonflies have long been suggested to play a role in optimisation and control of flight. We have examined the effect of this type of actuation in the simplified case of a small fixed wing aircraft to determine whether energetic advantages exist in normal flight when compared to the cost of actuation using aerodynamic control surfaces. We explore the benefits the abdomen/tail might provide to balance level flight against trim changes. We also consider the transient advantage of using alternative longitudinal control effectors in a pull up flight maneuver. Results show that the articulated abdomen significantly reduces energy consumption and increase performance in isolated manoeuvres. The results also indicate a design feature that could be incorporated into small unmanned aircraft under particular circumstances. We aim to highlight behaviours that would increase flight efficiency to inform designers of micro aerial vehicles and to aid the analysis of insect flight behaviour and energetics.
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
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language English
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publishDate 2020
publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
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spelling upm-865922021-09-28T23:11:19Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/ Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects Ogunwa, Titilayo Blake, McIvor Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa Abdullah, Ermira Junita Chahl, Javaan The actuated abdomens of insects such as dragonflies have long been suggested to play a role in optimisation and control of flight. We have examined the effect of this type of actuation in the simplified case of a small fixed wing aircraft to determine whether energetic advantages exist in normal flight when compared to the cost of actuation using aerodynamic control surfaces. We explore the benefits the abdomen/tail might provide to balance level flight against trim changes. We also consider the transient advantage of using alternative longitudinal control effectors in a pull up flight maneuver. Results show that the articulated abdomen significantly reduces energy consumption and increase performance in isolated manoeuvres. The results also indicate a design feature that could be incorporated into small unmanned aircraft under particular circumstances. We aim to highlight behaviours that would increase flight efficiency to inform designers of micro aerial vehicles and to aid the analysis of insect flight behaviour and energetics. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020-10 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/1/Longitudinal%20actuated%20abdomen%20.pdf Ogunwa, Titilayo and Blake, McIvor and Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa and Abdullah, Ermira Junita and Chahl, Javaan (2020) Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects. Energies, 13 (20). art. no. 5480. pp. 1-21. ISSN 1996-1073 https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/20/5480 10.3390/en13205480
spellingShingle Ogunwa, Titilayo
Blake, McIvor
Awang Jumat, Nurkhairunisa
Abdullah, Ermira Junita
Chahl, Javaan
Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title_full Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title_fullStr Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title_full_unstemmed Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title_short Longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
title_sort longitudinal actuated abdomen control for energy efficient flight of insects
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/86592/1/Longitudinal%20actuated%20abdomen%20.pdf