A numerical study on the aerodynamic effects of dynamic twisting on forward flight flapping wings

Abstract To better understand the secret of natural flying vertebrates such as how humming-birds twist their wings to achieve superb flight ability, we presented a numerical investigation of dynamic twisting based on a hummingbird-like flapping wing model. Computational fluid dynamic simulations were performed to examine the effects of dynamic twisting on the unsteady flow field, the generation of instantaneous aerodynamic forces, and the time-averaged aerodynamic performance. This research reveals the details of leading-edge vortices (LEVs) and the underlying mechanisms behind the positive effects of wing torsion. The results demonstrated that wing torsion can effectively maintain the favorable distribution of effective angle of attack along the wing spanwise, resulting in a higher time-averaged thrust and vertical force. Further, the proper parameters of dynamic twisting can also improve the propulsive efficiency in forward flight. Dynamic twisting also showed a superior ability in controlling the airflow separation over the wing surface and maintaining the stability of the LEV. The amplitudes of effective angle of attack associated with the highest peak thrust and the maximum thrust-to-power at different advanced ratios were also explored, and it was found that the amplitudes decrease with increasing advanced ratio. To improve the efficiency during larger advanced ratio, specific modifications to the pitching of the wing were proposed in this work. The research in this paper has promising implications for the bio-inspired flapping wing.