Flexible calorimetric flow sensor with unprecedented sensitivity and directional resolution for multiple flight parameter detection.

The accurate perception of multiple flight parameters, such as the angle of attack, angle of sideslip, and airflow velocity, is essential for the flight control of micro air vehicles, which conventionally rely on arrays of pressure or airflow velocity sensors. Here, we present the estimation of multiple flight parameters using a single flexible calorimetric flow sensor featuring a sophisticated structural design with a suspended array of highly sensitive vanadium oxide thermistors. The proposed sensor achieves an unprecedented velocity resolution of 0.11 mm·s-1 and angular resolution of 0.1°. By attaching the sensor to a wing model, the angles of attack and slip were estimated simultaneously. The triaxial flight velocities and wing vibrations can also be estimated by sensing the relative airflow velocity due to its high sensitivity and fast response. Overall, the proposed sensor has many promising applications in weak airflow sensing and flight control of micro air vehicles.

Aerodynamic/Hydrodynamic Investigation of Water Cross-Over for a Bionic Unmanned Aquatic-Aerial Amphibious Vehicle.

An aerodynamic/hydrodynamic investigation of water cross-over is performed for a bionic unmanned aquatic-aerial amphibious vehicle (bionic UAAV). According to flying fish features and UAAV flight requirements of water cross-over, the bionic conceptual design of crossing over water is described and planned in multiple stages and modes of motion. A solution procedure for the numerical simulation method, based on a modified SST turbulence model and the VOF model, is expressed, and a verification study is presented using a typical case. Longitudinal-lateral numerical simulation analysis investigates the cruise performance underwater and in the air. The numerical simulation and principal experiment verification are conducted for crossing over water and water surface acceleration. The results indicate that the bionic UAAV has an excellent aerodynamic/hydrodynamic performance and variant configuration to adapt to water cross-over. The bionic UAAV has good water and air navigation stability, and the cruise flying lift-drag ratio is greater than 15 at a low Reynolds number. Its pitching moment has the phenomenon of a "water mound" forming and breaking at the water cross-over process. The present method and the bionic variant configuration provide a feasible water cross-over design and analysis strategy for bionic UAAVs.

Mechanical Fourier transform for programmable metamaterials.

Proactively programming materials toward target nonlinear mechanical behaviors is crucial to realize customizable functions for advanced devices and systems, which arouses persistent explorations for rapid and efficient inverse design strategies. Herein, we propose a "mechanical Fourier transform" strategy to program mechanical behaviors of materials by mimicking the concept of Fourier transform. In this strategy, an arbitrary target force-displacement curve is decomposed into multiple cosine curves and a constant curve, each of which is realized by a rationally designed multistable module in an array-structured metamaterial. Various target curves with distinct shapes can be rapidly programmed and reprogrammed through only amplitude modulation on the modules. Two exemplary metamaterials are demonstrated to validate the strategy with a macroscale prototype based on magnet lattice and a microscale prototype based on an etched silicon wafer. This strategy applies to a variety of scales, constituents, and structures, and paves a way for the property programming of materials.

Design, modelling, and experimental validation of a self-rotating flapping wing rotorcraft with motor-spring resonance actuation system.

Compared with traditional flapping motion, the flapping wing rotor (FWR) allows rotating freedom by installing the two wings asymmetrically, which introduces rotary motion characteristics and enables the FWR to have higher lift and aerodynamic efficiency at low Reynolds number. However, most of the proposed FWRs contain linkage mechanical transmission structures, the fixed degrees of freedom of which prohibit the wings from achieving variable flapping trajectories, limiting further optimization and controller design of FWRs. In order to fundamentally address the above challenges of FWRs, this paper presents a new type of FWR with two mechanically decoupled wings, which are directly driven by two independent motor-spring resonance actuation systems. The proposed FWR has 12.4 g of system weight and 165-205 mm wingspan. In addition, a theoretical electromechanical model based on the DC motor model and quasi-steady aerodynamic forces is established, and a series of experiments are conducted in order to determine the ideal working point of the proposed FWR. It is notable that both our theoretical model and experiments exhibit uneven rotation of the FWR during flight, i.e. rotation speed dropping in the downstroke and increasing in the upstroke, which further tests the proposed theoretical model and uncovers the relationship between flapping and passive rotation in the FWR. To further validate the performance of the design, free flight tests are conducted, and the proposed FWR demonstrates stable liftoff at the designed working point.

A flexoelectricity-enabled ultrahigh piezoelectric effect of a polymeric composite foam as a strain-gradient electric generator.

All dielectric materials including ceramics, semiconductors, biomaterials, and polymers have the property of flexoelectricity, which opens a fertile avenue to sensing, actuation, and energy harvesting by a broad range of materials. However, the flexoelectricity of solids is weak at the macroscale. Here, we achieve an ultrahigh flexoelectric effect via a composite foam based on PDMS and CCTO nanoparticles. The mass- and deformability-specific flexoelectricity of the foam exceeds 10,000 times that of the solid matrix under compression, yielding a density-specific equivalent piezoelectric coefficient 120 times that of PZT. The flexoelectricity output remains stable in 1,000,000 deformation cycles, and a portable sample can power LEDs and charge mobile phones and Bluetooth headsets. Our work provides a route to exploiting flexible and light-weight materials with highly sensitive omnidirectional electromechanical coupling that have applications in sensing, actuation, and scalable energy harvesting.

Effects of micro-structure on aerodynamics of Coccinella septempunctata elytra (ladybird) in forward flight as assessed via electron microscopy.

The effects of micro-structure on aerodynamics of Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) elytra in forward flight were investigated. The micro-structure was examined by a scanning electron microscope and a digital microscope. Based on the experimental results, five elytron models were constructed to separately investigate the effects of the camber and the local corrugation in both leading edge and trailing edge on aerodynamics. Computational fluid dynamic simulations of five elytron models were conducted by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the Reynolds number of 245. The results show that camber and the local corrugation in the leading edge play significant roles in improving the aerodynamic performance, while the local corrugation in the trailing edge has little effect on aerodynamics.

Functional morphology and structural characteristics of wings of the ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata (L.).

In recent years, the surface morphology and microstructure of ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) wings have been used to help design the flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FWMAV). In this study, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to verify the functional roles of the ladybird forewing and hindwing. Surface morphology and the cross-sectional microstructure of the wings are presented. Detailed morphology of ladybird forewings was observed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the composition of the wings was characterized using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The ladybird forewing may possess different performance characteristics than the beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma. Additionally, the circular holes in the forewing might be important for decreasing the weight of the forewing and to satisfy requirements of mechanical behavior. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:550-556, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.