Synthetis and Kinematic Analysis of a Flapping Wing Mechanism

Abstract

In this paper, the synthetis and kinematic analysis of a flapping wing mechanism are presented. A simplified planar model of the flapping locomotion is first established based on the flight of real birds. The significant parameters, the flapping angles of the two wing segments, are acquired from the flight of a live swan. Two four-bar function generators are used to correlate the input rotation to the flapping angles respectively. Freudensteins's equation for three prescribed positions is used to perform the dimensional synthesis. An eigh-bar mechanism is therefore designed and synthesized. The wing trajectories and the flapping angles of the mechanism are calculated and compared with those of the swan, demonstrating satisfactory agreements. The kinematic analysis and the lift evaluation of the mechanism are also performed, showing promising potentials for flapping flight.