Energy saving in flight formation

Many species of large bird fly together in formation, perhaps because flight power demands and energy expenditure can be reduced when the birds fly at an optimal spacing, or because orientation is improved by communication within groups. We have measured heart rates as an estimate of energy expenditure in imprinted great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) trained to fly in 'V' formation, and show that these birds save a significant amount of energy by flying in formation. This advantage is probably a principal reason for the evolution of flight formation in large birds that migrate in groups.     

Comparative power curves in bird flight

The relationship between mechanical power output and forward velocity in bird flight is controversial, bearing on the comparative physiology and ecology of locomotion. Applied to flying birds, aerodynamic theory predicts that mechanical power should vary as a function of forward velocity in a U-shaped curve. The only empirical test of this theory, using the black-billed magpie (Pica pica), suggests that the mechanical power curve is relatively flat over intermediate velocities. Here, by integrating in vivo measurements of pectoralis force and length change with quasi-steady aerodynamic models developed using data on wing and body movement, we present mechanical power curves for cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) and ringed turtle-doves (Streptopelia risoria). In contrast to the curve reported for magpies, the power curve for cockatiels is acutely concave, whereas that for doves is intermediate in shape and shows higher mass-specific power output at most speeds. We also find that wing-beat frequency and mechanical power output do not necessarily share minima in flying birds. Thus, aspects of morphology, wing kinematics and overall style of flight can greatly affect the magnitude and shape of a species' power curve.     

从鸟群群集飞行到无人机自主集群编队

无人机可通过自主集群编队提高其在复杂环境下执行任务的能力.多飞行器并存导致系统协调管理难度提升等一系列问题,因此如何设计合理高效的无人机集群编队协调自主控制算法是一个亟待解决的难点问题.在鸟群群集飞行过程中,个体通过遵循简单行为规则进行相互合作而产生复杂有序的集体行为.由于鸟群群集飞行过程中所表现出的邻近交互性、群体稳定性和环境适应性等特点与无人机集群编队的自主、协调和智能等控制要求有着紧密的契合之处,因此,研究鸟群群集飞行机制,并将其映射到无人机集群系统,是解决无人机集群编队协调自主控制问题的一条切实可行的途径.     

飞行爬壁桥梁检测机器人的翼间气动干扰分析

为满足飞行爬壁桥梁检测机器人的功能特点,结构上,飞行爬壁机器人在飞行状态下时,四个旋翼不在同一平面而是处于一种纵列式排列。针对这种纵列式旋翼间存在的复杂气动干扰,先对单旋翼流场进行计算流体动力学(computational fluid dynamics, CFD)仿真并验证其可靠性。在此基础上分别对纵列式双旋翼在不同横间距、不同纵间距、不同转速的情况下进行气动仿真。然后根据仿真结果进行分析,得到横纵间距以及转速对前后旋翼以及整个系统的气动特性影响。仿真结果表明：横间距对纵列式旋翼间的气动干扰较大,而轴向间距相对较小,干扰程度与转速相关。可见本文结论可为飞行爬壁机器人的旋翼布局、转速、可行性等提供依据。     

合成射流激励频率对车辆气动阻力的影响

利用大涡模拟方法,研究了激励频率对三维地面车辆气动阻力的影响规律及其控制机理.流动分析结果表明:合成射流布置在车辆顶部和斜背交界处,在不同激励频率下实现车辆减阻,当频率低于90 Hz时,增大频率,阻力增大;频率高于90 Hz,随着频率的增大,阻力减小;频率达到1 500Hz时,阻力不再减小.斜背附着距离和雷诺应力分布的差异解释了气动力随不同激励频率变化的原因.不同激励频率下的频谱分析表明:合成射流控制了斜背动态附着现象,导致速度、压力和阻力系数频谱峰值皆对应激励频率.     

Particle swarm optimization with a leader and followers

Referring to the flight mechanism of wild goose flock, we propose a novel version of Particle Swarm Optimization （PSO） with a leader and followers. It is referred to as Goose Team Optimization （GTO）. The basic features of goose team flight such as goose role division, parallel principle, aggregate principle and separate principle are implemented in the recommended algorithm. In GTO, a team is formed by the particles with a leader and some followers. The role of the leader is to determine the search direction. The followers decide their flying modes according to their distances to the leader individually. Thus, a wide area can be explored and the particle collision can be really avoided. When GTO is applied to four benchmark examples of complex nonlinear functions, it has a better computation performance than the standard PSO.     

How swifts control their glide performance with morphing wings

Gliding birds continually change the shape and size of their wings, presumably to exploit the profound effect of wing morphology on aerodynamic performance. That birds should adjust wing sweep to suit glide speed has been predicted qualitatively by analytical glide models, which extrapolated the wing's performance envelope from aerodynamic theory. Here we describe the aerodynamic and structural performance of actual swift wings, as measured in a wind tunnel, and on this basis build a semi-empirical glide model. By measuring inside and outside swifts' behavioural envelope, we show that choosing the most suitable sweep can halve sink speed or triple turning rate. Extended wings are superior for slow glides and turns; swept wings are superior for fast glides and turns. This superiority is due to better aerodynamic performance-with the exception of fast turns. Swept wings are less effective at generating lift while turning at high speeds, but can bear the extreme loads. Finally, our glide model predicts that cost-effective gliding occurs at speeds of 8-10 m s(-1), whereas agility-related figures of merit peak at 15-25 m s(-1). In fact, swifts spend the night ('roost') in flight at 8-10 m s(-1) (ref. 11), thus our model can explain this choice for a resting behaviour. Morphing not only adjusts birds' wing performance to the task at hand, but could also control the flight of future aircraft.     

A critical ligamentous mechanism in the evolution of avian flight

Despite recent advances in aerodynamic, neuromuscular and kinematic aspects of avian flight and dozens of relevant fossil discoveries, the origin of aerial locomotion and the transition from limbs to wings continue to be debated. Interpreting this transition depends on understanding the mechanical interplay of forces in living birds, particularly at the shoulder where most wing motion takes place. Shoulder function depends on a balance of forces from muscles, ligaments and articular cartilages, as well as inertial, gravitational and aerodynamic loads on the wing. Here we show that the force balance system of the shoulder evolved from a primarily muscular mechanism to one in which the acrocoracohumeral ligament has a critical role. Features of the shoulder of Mesozoic birds and closely related theropod dinosaurs indicate that the evolution of flight preceded the acquisition of the ligament-based force balance system and that some basal birds are intermediate in shoulder morphology.     

No cost of echolocation for bats in flight

Echolocation has evolved in relatively few animal species. One constraint may be the high cost of producing pulses, the echoes of which can be detected over useful distances. The energy cost of echolocation in a small (6 g) insectivorous bat, when hanging at rest, was recently measured at 0.067 Joules per pulse, implying a mean cost for echolocation in flight of 9.5 x basal metabolic rate (range 7 to 12x). Because flight is very costly, whether the costs of echolocation and flying are additive is an important question. We measured the energy costs of flight in two species of small echolocating Microchiroptera using a novel combination of respirometry and doubly-labelled water. Flight energy expenditure (adjusted for body mass) was not significantly different between echolocating bats and non-echolocating bats and birds. The low cost of echolocation for flying vertebrates may have been a significant factor favouring its evolution in these groups.     

A fundamental avian wing-stroke provides a new perspective on the evolution of flight

The evolution of avian flight remains one of biology's major controversies, with a long history of functional interpretations of fossil forms given as evidence for either an arboreal or cursorial origin of flight. Despite repeated emphasis on the 'wing-stroke' as a necessary avenue of investigation for addressing the evolution of flight, no empirical data exist on wing-stroke dynamics in an experimental evolutionary context. Here we present the first comparison of wing-stroke kinematics of the primary locomotor modes (descending flight and incline flap-running) that lead to level-flapping flight in juvenile ground birds throughout development. We offer results that are contrary both to popular perception and inferences from other studies. Starting shortly after hatching and continuing through adulthood, ground birds use a wing-stroke confined to a narrow range of less than 20 degrees , when referenced to gravity, that directs aerodynamic forces about 40 degrees above horizontal, permitting a 180 degrees range in the direction of travel. Based on our results, we put forth an ontogenetic-transitional wing hypothesis that posits that the incremental adaptive stages leading to the evolution of avian flight correspond behaviourally and morphologically to transitional stages observed in ontogenetic forms.     

柔性扑翼的模型建立及其功率研究

在原有匀速刚性模型的基础上,提出考虑了扑翼扑动速率变化和形状变化的柔性扑翼模型,使之更接近鸟翼真实扑动情况.模拟计算了时柔性扑翼气动功率及扑动效率随着扑动角、来流速度等参数的变化,从气动角度解释了为何鸟在不同的飞行阶段扑翼规律各不相同,为柔性扑翼飞行器的设计提供了理论依据.     

The avian nature of the brain and inner ear of Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx, the earliest known flying bird (avialan) from the Late Jurassic period, exhibits many shared primitive characters with more basal coelurosaurian dinosaurs (the clade including all theropods more bird-like than Allosaurus), such as teeth, a long bony tail and pinnate feathers. However, Archaeopteryx possessed asymmetrical flight feathers on its wings and tail, together with a wing feather arrangement shared with modern birds. This suggests some degree of powered flight capability but, until now, little was understood about the extent to which its brain and special senses were adapted for flight. We investigated this problem by computed tomography scanning and three-dimensional reconstruction of the braincase of the London specimen of Archaeopteryx. Here we show the reconstruction of the braincase from which we derived endocasts of the brain and inner ear. These suggest that Archaeopteryx closely resembled modern birds in the dominance of the sense of vision and in the possession of expanded auditory and spatial sensory perception in the ear. We conclude that Archaeopteryx had acquired the derived neurological and structural adaptations necessary for flight. An enlarged forebrain suggests that it had also developed enhanced somatosensory integration with these special senses demanded by a lifestyle involving flying ability.     

飞行器概念设计中多学科优化模型的研究

多学科优化技术的发展有效地提高了飞机的设计水平,同时提高了设计人员对非常规布局飞机的设计能力。以一种双后掠飞翼布局飞机为研究对象,建立新的优化模型对其进行气动、结构优化。优化过程分为系统级优化和学科级优化。在系统级优化中,航程定义为飞机全局性能指标。在学科级优化模型中,把升阻比和展向气动载荷分布的综合气动性能作气动学科优化目标,结构重量作为结构优化目标。优化结果表明,优化模型可以高效的运行,优化方案更接近最优解。     

高海况机翼波浪地面效应数值模拟与分析

针对三维等直机翼型(NACA0015),采用计算流体动力学(CFD)分析方法,以非定常不可压缩流动N-S方程和2阶RNGk-ε湍流模型,对高海况波浪地面效应进行了数值模拟与分析.首先在二维情况下数值模拟分析了波浪地面效应,讨论了计及当地风速和波浪行进速度的必要性,同时分析了高海况下波浪地面效应翼型气动力系数随飞行高度变化趋势及原因.在此基础上,计算分析了三维情况下,等直机翼在不同航向与风向角时的气动力系数及滚转力矩的变化,并重点对侧风影响下的滚转力矩产生机理及变化特点进行了论述.通过数值模拟,初步探讨了高海况下波浪地面效应对等直机翼气动特性的影响规律,为深入研究高海况对地效飞行器设计的影响提供了依据.     

质量矩拦截弹滑模反演控制律设计

与传统的舵面控制相比,采用质量矩控制的飞行器在高速飞行下的气动阻力和气动加热都将大大降低,极大地增强了飞行器的机动性和敏捷性,为飞行器的控制效率和控制精度的提高提供了条件。以末段飞行中的质量矩拦截弹为控制对象,在建立其非线性耦合动力学系统数学模型的基础上,针对气动参数和结构总体参数的不确定因素的影响和执行机构在控制过程中存在的抖振现象,采用反演控制和参数提取时自适应律的积分处理算法,设计了快速终端滑模控制律。通过对控制器的稳定性分析和质量块移动指令执行情况的仿真,验证了此方法的有效性和可行性。     

大展弦比飞翼刚柔强耦合飞行动力学与控制

针对大展弦比飞翼布局柔性飞行器在刚体和弹性自由度动力学强耦合情况下的控制问题,对相应的强耦合动力学特性与相应的控制方法展开研究.采用自由-自由模态法表征飞翼刚柔运动之间的惯性耦合;采用偶极子网格法和有理函数近似法完成广义非定常气动力计算;应用线性二次型最优控制方法进行飞行机动与弹性变形的联合控制律设计.与无控情况相比,闭环控制可有效减缓飞行器俯仰方向的阵风扰动至原来的40%.研究结果表明,飞行器一阶弯曲模态短周期之间存在明显动力学耦合.设计的闭环控制律可使动态弹性变形量始终向有助于减缓扰动方向变化.      

共轴刚性旋翼气动特性试验与分析

在航空工业气动院FL-52风洞开展了共轴刚性旋翼气动特性风洞试验,通过合理的操纵与配平策略,实现了共轴刚性旋翼配平,并对悬停、多种前飞状态下气动特性及升力偏置对旋翼操纵特性及性能的影响机理进行了研究。结果表明,试验取得了比较好的配平效果,桨毂力矩、合扭矩及升力偏置配平误差分别优于±2 N·m、±0.5 N·m、±0.01;悬停状态扭矩配平与非配平状态下,上旋翼效率都大于下旋翼;前飞状态升力偏置可有效提升大前进比时旋翼气动效率而小前进比时则并不明显,升力偏置的增大会使上下旋翼的桨毂滚转力矩大幅增加。     

面向网络的实时飞行模拟系统模型

为提高培养飞行员的效率和质量,节约费用,从整体上设计并实现了一种实时的、面向网络的飞行系统仿真模型。为了使其具有通用性及实时性,采用数据驱动方式,并通过使用稳定系数方式单独设计了一种适用的空气动力的数学模型。通过简单的配置用XML(extensib le M arkup Language)格式描述的配置文件,可以同时模拟各种类型的飞机飞行驾驶,为飞行员的飞行模拟训练提供了仿真平台,模型的建立方法可以为同类设计和研究提供借鉴。实践证明,本模型在通用性、实时性以及仿真度等方面基本符合要求,应用此模型实现了某种国产初级教练机的仪表飞行系统,并被应用于飞行员的仪表飞行训练中。测试结果表明,如果不加控制信号,飞机能保持平飞状态达30 s以上。     

地面效应对超低空空投任务性能的影响

通过对某型运输机超低空空投改平和牵引阶段纵向及横航向模态特性的分析,研究了地面效应作用下飞机的气动特性,并参照相应的飞行品质规范,评估了地面效应对空投任务性能的影响。研究结果可为空投飞行控制律的设计及相应地面实验提供理论支持。     

Molecular dynamics of cyclically contracting insect flight muscle in vivo

Flight in insects--which constitute the largest group of species in the animal kingdom--is powered by specialized muscles located within the thorax. In most insects each contraction is triggered not by a motor neuron spike but by mechanical stretch imposed by antagonistic muscles. Whereas 'stretch activation' and its reciprocal phenomenon 'shortening deactivation' are observed to varying extents in all striated muscles, both are particularly prominent in the indirect flight muscles of insects. Here we show changes in thick-filament structure and actin-myosin interactions in living, flying Drosophila with the use of synchrotron small-angle X-ray diffraction. To elicit stable flight behaviour and permit the capture of images at specific phases within the 5-ms wingbeat cycle, we tethered flies within a visual flight simulator. We recorded images of 340 micros duration every 625 micros to create an eight-frame diffraction movie, with each frame reflecting the instantaneous structure of the contractile apparatus. These time-resolved measurements of molecular-level structure provide new insight into the unique ability of insect flight muscle to generate elevated power at high frequency.