By combining the flapping and rotary motion, a flapping wing rotor (FWR) shows unique kinematics of motion. It can produce a significantly higher aerodynamic efficiency and lift coefficient than insect-like flapping wings. However, due to the lack of controllable FWR aerial vehicles, the effect of different flapping parameters of the FWR on aerodynamic characteristics and efficiency remains to be evaluated experimentally. In this work, we conduct experimental studies to investigate the FWR’s lift performance based on our previous vehicle design, which has demonstrated sustained stable hover and maneuver. In particular, by using such flyable FWR as the test platform, the changes in attack angle of the wing, the torsion of wings, different neutral positions, different up and down flapping angles, and different flapping amplitudes, were studied respectively. CFD simulation was used as an auxiliary and supplementary means for validation. As a result, design essentials to lift maximization of the FWR are proposed. The result proves that changing the attack angle and the torsion of the wing will have a certain impact on the lift. In addition, the ideal lift force can be generated when the neutral position tend to zero degrees and the up and down flapping angles tend to be equal. With the growth of the flapping amplitude, the lift force increases continuously. These experimental results provide important design cues for maximizing lift and payload capability of FWR-MAVs.

Design and implementation of an effective control mechanism is the key to enable the controlled flight of flapping wing rotor micro aerial vehicles (FWR-MAVs). In order to address this open challenge, in this paper, a triple-wing FWR-MAV with its particular control system is proposed. The corresponding experimental study of the vehicle is conducted. As a result, the triple-wing propulsion system demonstrates advantages in both lift generation and flight stability based on the force measurement. The control torques of the proposed FWR-MAV are generated by a particular slip flow rudder mechanism. The effectiveness of such a design combination has been validated experimentally. A series of flight tests are conducted, including sustained hovering and forward-backward maneuvering. To the best of our knowledge, such a design yields the world’s first FWR-MAV capable of sustained controlled flight.

The flapping wing rotor (FWR) is a novel aerial vehicle that combines the aerodynamic benefits of both a flapping wing and a rotary wing. By utilizing the passive rotation effect resulting from the flexible deformation of the center symmetric flapping wing, the FWR can enhance its lift force. However, previous research has neglected to explore the mechanism behind the flapping-rotation motion of a flyable FWR, which elucidates its lift advantage compared to conventional flapping motion. Additionally, the impact of varying wing number on the flapping-rotation motion and performance of the FWR has not been taken into consideration. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct an experimental analysis to ascertain the impact of flapping-rotation decomposition and varying wing quantities on FWR. In this study, our prior vehicle design, which exhibited consistent stable hovering and maneuvering capabilities, is employed to construct the flapping wing rotor experiment system. Through this unique experimental system, the effects of flapping-rotation decomposition and different wing quantities on FWR are individually investigated. Additionally, computational fluid dynamics simulation is utilized as an auxiliary and supplementary approach to analyze the aerodynamic characteristics of the flapping-rotation motion. The result proves that the stable flapping-rotation motion does produce a more significant lift increase than the normal flapping motions. Under the premise of stable flapping-rotation motion, more wings will not only produce more lift but also require more driving power. The interactions between the wings also affect the flapping-rotation motion.