Three-dimensional effects on the translational locomotion of a passive heaving wing

This study was carried out on a three-dimensional wing with a freedom in translational direction under a prescribed up and down heaving motion. The investigation focused on how the system kinematics and structural parameters affect the dynamic response of a wing with a relatively small span length. The induced wing motion is a result of the system stability breakdown, which has only been observed by previous researches in the two-dimensional case. The results obtained indicate that the evolution of the wing locomotion is controlled not only by the flapping frequency but also influenced by the system inertia as well as the wing aspect ratio and density ratio. Moreover, initial perturbation effect on wings flexibility plays a role in the evolution development. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.