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

Planetary Exploration Using Biomimetics
An Entomopter for Flight on Mars
curves shown in Figure 3-2 show the force and mass distributions for a generic case. The curve
profiles should be the same for all operating conditions and wing sizes; only the absolute values
should be affected by a change in these parameters. From this figure it can be seen that the maximum
force occurs about midway along the wing section. Further toward the wing tip, the force
is reduced. Although wing acceleration increases towards the tip the mass is decreasing and produces
a net reduction in force. The opposite occurs toward the root, where there is greater mass
but less acceleration, thereby reducing the total force.
Mass Distribution
Force Distribution
0.01 0.08 0.16 0.23 0.31 0.38 0.46
Wing Section Raidus (m)
Figure 3-2: Mass and Corresponding Force Distribution Along Wing Section
i=R
∑ Equation 3-1
2θr
F = m i
i
( 1
i=0
4 f )2
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Phase II Final Report