28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 23 - 28 September 2012, Brisbane, Australia
Paper ICAS 2012-2.5.1

NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF VARYING SPANWISE TWIST ON LOW-REYNOLDS-NUMBER FLAPPING FLIGHT

S. Premachandran, M. Giacobello
DSTO, Australia

Keywords: flapping wing, insect, wing twist, low-reynolds-number

The effect of spanwise twist on the performance of a flapping wing is studied using three-dimensional computational methods. Sinusoidal flapping and feathering motions are imposed, with the feathering angle varying linearly along the span to create twist. The lift, power and efficiency are computed and related to the flow structures.

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