Development and Analysis of Gull Inspired UAV Flapping Wing

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are the aircraft which are controlled remotely or autonomously. They can be characterized on the basis of type of wings used, namely fixed, flapping and rotary wing UAVs. They can be used for various military and civil applications. Present study is focused on flapping wing UAVs. Natural fliers are the master of flapping flight and can be taken as inspiration for developing an efficient flapping UAV model. In this study a flapping wing system, inspired from Black Headed Gull, is developed and tested for its kinematic and aerodynamic characteristics. Like the original biological structure, the developed model has a shoulder joint, an elbow joint, and a wrist joint. Laser displacement sensor and digital image correlation setups were used for kinematic testing. The aerodynamic analysis was carried out using six component force balance in wind tunnel at different wind speeds and angle of attacks. It was found that the wing performed flapping motion similar to the gull with independent control of each joint. Also, the effect of each joint was observed on the lift, thrust and moments generated by the model during flight. It was observed that the developed model showed similar properties as compared to its biological inspiration.