Aerodynamic Analysis and Flight Control of a Butterfly-Inspired Flapping-Wing Robot

The incredibly efficient and agile flight abilities of butterflies have become the inspiration for the design of butterfly-inspired flapping-wing robots, but their intricate flight mechanisms bring challenges to the flight control of these robots. Aerodynamic simulation emerges as an effective tool for addressing these challenges. In this letter, ANSYS FLUENT is used to simulate the aerodynamic characteristics of a self-designed butterfly-inspired flapping-wing robot with independently controlled wings. The approach begins with constructing a model for the flapping-wing motion of this robot, followed by the development of a solid domain simulation model at a scale matching the actual prototype. By generating diverse modes of flapping-wing motion, including frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, and angle offset modulation, the aerodynamic characteristics of the robot are obtained and compared. Moreover, an analysis of vortex variations during level flight of the butterfly-inspired flapping-wing robot is conducted, evaluating the vortex structure using the Q criterion. The findings highlight significant effects of the three modulation methods on aerodynamic force. Notably, the feasibility of frequency and angle offset modulation methods for flight control is validated through actual flight tests. This cost-effective simulation method holds practical implications for future research and applications in the field of flapping-wing robots.