Phase II Final Report - NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts

Planetary Exploration Using Biomimetics
An Entomopter for Flight on Mars
6. Actual deformations which could develop as a result of aerodynamic loads are not considered.
3.3.3.6 Coordinate System
The coordinate system defined for the formulation is shown below in Figure 3-117.
V
Axis of
rotation
h
α
+ x
b
b
Figure 3-117: Thin Flat Plate Airfoil
h = vertical coordinate at zero center of airfoil, considered positive downwards
α = angle of attack, considered positive right hand clockwise
V = wind velocity positive towards right
a = axis of rotation from center of airfoil (dimensionless, with reference to semichord b
b = semichord = chord/2
Leading edge and trailing edge also normalized at +1 and -1 respectively.
Table 3-8: List of Symbols
Span = Span of the entire wing (both sides), in ft
V = velocity of air in ft/sec
freq = Flapping frequency in Hertz
Plamp = Flapping amplitude in degrees
Pitamp = Pitch amplitude in degrees
sspan = semi span (half span)
a = axis of rotation fixed at -0.25
ω = angular velocity in radians/sec
hamp = Flapping amplitude in ft, based on span
αamp = Pitching amplitude in radians
t = time within the cycle, a cycle has been divided into 100 equal parts, and t varies as a function of frequency
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Phase II Final Report