Open AccessExploratory Structural Investigation of a Hawkmoth-Inspired MAV's Thorax
Author(s) -
Luciano Demasi,
Anthony N. Palazotto,
Alex C. Hollenbeck,
Rauno Cavallaro
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of micro air vehicles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.324
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1756-8307
pISSN - 1756-8293
DOI - 10.1260/1756-8293.4.4.291
Subject(s) - wing , flapping , thorax (insect anatomy) , insect flight , computer science , finite element method , manduca sexta , software , simulation , biomimetics , bird flight , work (physics) , aerospace engineering , anatomy , engineering , structural engineering , insect , biology , artificial intelligence , mechanical engineering , ecology , programming language
Manduca Sexta present excellent flight performances which make this insect an ideal candidate for bio-inspired engineered micro air vehicles. The actual insect presents an energetically very efficient thorax-wing flight system which needs to be fully understood for an effective design of artificial flying machines. This work discusses a preliminary finite element model which simulates the thorax-wing system and the muscles involved in the flapping motion. Both upstroke and downstroke conditions are statically analyzed with the application of load sets that simulate the contractions of the dorso-ventral and dorso-longitudinal muscles (indirect flight). Comparison with commercial software and experimental results is also presented and discussed.
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