Evolution of Vortex Structures Generated by a Rigid Flapping Wing with a Winglet in Quiescent Water

Srikanth Goli; Arnab Roy; Subhransu Roy; Imil Hamda Imran

doi:10.46604/peti.2023.12838

Authors

Srikanth Goli Applied Research Center for Metrology, Standards and Testing (ARC-MST), Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Arnab Roy Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Subhransu Roy Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Imil Hamda Imran Applied Research Center for Metrology, Standards and Testing (ARC-MST), Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46604/peti.2023.12838

Keywords:

natural flyers, mechanical flapping, flapping wing, winglet, vortex structures

Abstract

This study aims to the utilization of vortex structures generated through wing flapping for achieving sustainable flight, and the motivation is elicited by the phenomenon observed in natural flyers. The vortex structures in the flow field generated by a flapping rigid wing are captured using vorticity and the LAMDA2 criterion. The study investigates a comparative analysis between a wing both with and without a winglet. Moreover, the influence of flapping frequency is examined as well. For the experiments, particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements are employed for the flow field around mechanical flapping motion in a quiescent water condition. The flapping mechanism has one-degree freedom, showing a 1:3 ratio in motion, and tested wings at 1.5 and 2.0 Hz. A “modified” vortex filamentation and fragmentation phenomenon is proposed as a significant finding in the present study, based on a comprehensive analysis of the flow field around the wing with a winglet.

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