Name: Lena Johnson
Title: Evaluating Flight Time in a Flapping-Wing UAV Through Intermittent Gliding and Flapping
Time: July, 22 4:00-6:00pm EGR-2162 DeWalt Meeting Room
Committee Members:
– Dr. Hugh Bruck: Committee Chair
– Dr. Derek Paley: Dean’s Representative
– Dr. Miao Yu
– Dr. Yancy Diaz-Mercado
– Dr. Nikhil Chopra
Abstract:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly being used for applications that require longer, reliable flight duration and distances. The greatest limitation to achieving these desired flights is the current on board battery technology which, restricted by internal chemistry and external size, can only provide a finite amount of power over time. Efforts to increase the battery’s efficiency and energy storage tend to rely on cumbersome methods that add weight and/or complexity to the system. However natural flyers, though also limited by a finite amount of internal energy gained through food consumption, are able to extend their flights through techniques that either utilize their inherent aerodynamic advantages or advantageously employ atmospheric phenomena. Flapping-Wing UAVs (FWUAVs) are as limited by their onboard battery as any other type of UAV, but because of their bio-inspired functionality are uniquely suited to utilize natural flight extension methods. Therefore, this PhD presents an analysis of the exploration of bio-inspired, hybrid flapping/gliding, also known as intermittent gliding, techniques to improve the flight performance of a FWUAV. Robo Raven is the FWUAV that was chosen as the research platform for this work. It was developed by researchers at the University of Maryland to perform prolonged, untethered flights and exhibit a flight proficiency that combined the maneuverability of rotary-wing flight with the efficiency of fixed-wing flight.
The technique to improve FWUAV flight time, presented in this work incorporates (1) the modeling of Robo Raven’s flapping/gliding potential through the development of a state-space representation directly linking Robo Raven’s onboard battery dynamics with its aerodynamic performance, (2) the use of the state-space model to characterize the effect of intermittent gliding techniques on flight performance through simulation, (3) the real-world characterization of the simulation and of intermittent gliding techniques through flight demonstrations, and (4) the development of a design space by which the effect of wing design on gliding performance might be explored and lead to the potential tailoring of wing design to desired flight performance. The expected outcome of this technique is scientific analysis of the extension of Robo Raven’s flight time without added complexity of weight of the battery system.