This document is downloaded from DR-NTU, Nanyang Technological University Library, Singapore. Title Author(s) Citation Spring to flight with clapping wings Ang, Ziyuan Ang, Z. (2014, March). Spring to flight with clapping wings. Presented at Discover URECA @ NTU poster exhibition and competition, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Date 2014 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10220/24253 Rights © 2014 The Author(s). URECA Undergraduate Research Experience on CAmpus Category: 5 Student: Ang Ziyuan School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering FYP-URECA Project ID: MAE13001 Spring to Flight with Clapping Wings Some insects adopt clap-and-fling wing maneuver during flight to generate more aerodynamic thrust. However, such flapping flight is energetic costly, for wing acceleration and deceleration. To fly efficiently, insects recover wing kinetic energy by elastic energy storage. Conventional micro air vehicle (MAV), like the Silverlit® i-Bird cannot store elastic energy using a revolute joint. This inspired our flapping-wing micro air vehicle (MAV) to integrate flexural hinges to reduce driving energy. To illustrate the effect of the integrated spring on flapping flight, the MAV with and without the springs are compared in terms of thrust per unit weight. Clap and fling by insect Silverlit® i-Bird (right) Our Prototype MAV with elastic hinges Flexural hinge and torsional representation Clapping-wing MAV with elastic hinges, produced more thrust than that with revolute joint. However, it has more room for improvement. Maximum hover angle of prototype (left) and i-Bird (right) Moment vs Angle, θ Thrust to Weight Ratio 0.004 1 0.002 0.5 0 0 90 Prototype 140 Graph of hinge stiffness I-Bird Graph of thrust to weight ratio Further tests can be done by varying the hinge stiffness to determine the optimal energy and weight balance. This can be accomplished through the use of different materials and varying hinge lengths. Project Title: Bio-inspired Flapping-wing Micro Air Vehicles Supervisor: Asst Prof Lau Gih Keong Collaborator: Mr Chin Yao Wei www.ntu.edu.sg/ureca