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Aerodynamics

Related publications (20)

Continuity up to the boundary for minimizers of the one-phase Bernoulli problem

Xavier Fernandez-Real Girona

We prove new boundary regularity results for minimizers to the one-phase Alt-Caffarelli functional (also known as Bernoulli free boundary problem) in the case of continuous and Hölder-continuous boundary data. As an application, we use them to extend recen ...

Springer Science and Business Media LLC2025

Method for wind harvesting and wind rejection in flying drones

Dario Floreano, William John Stewart, Charalampos Vourtsis, Victor Casas Rochel, Nathan Samuel Müller

The present invention concerns a method of manoeuvring a vertical take-off and landing, unmanned aerial drone (100) comprising at least an aerodynamic surface (101), wherein, during a flight of the drone, the aerodynamic surface generates lift and/or drag ...

2024

Lumped Drag Model Identification and Real-Time External Force Detection for Rotary-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

Alcherio Martinoli, Lucas Cédric Wälti

This work focuses on understanding and identifying the drag forces applied to a rotary-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). We propose a lumped drag model that concisely describes the aerodynamical forces the MAV is subject to, with a minimal set of parameters ...

IEEE2024

The effects of kinematics, flexibility, and planform on the vortex formation and aerodynamic performance of flapping wing flight

Alexander Gehrke

In this thesis, the aerodynamic challenges in flapping wing flight are addressed. In particular, the effects of different wing kinematics, flexibilities, and planforms on the the leading edge vortex development and aerodynamic performance are investigated. ...

EPFL2023

Earwig-inspired foldable origami wing for micro air vehicle gliding

Jamie Paik

Foldable wings serve as an effective solution for reducing the size of micro air vehicles (MAVs) during non-flight phases, without compromising the gliding capacity provided by the wing area. Among insects, earwigs exhibit the highest folding ratio in thei ...

Frontiers Media Sa2023

Vortex shedding from a composite hydrofoil: Experimental evidence of a novel "partial lock-in"

Thomas Antoine Nicolas Berger, Mohamed Farhat

Lock-in is of great importance in many engineering applications due to its practical implications for structural safety. The influence of composite bend-twist coupling on the wake dynamics and vortex-induced vibration around a carbon fiber composite hydrof ...

Aip Publishing2023

Wing and tail morphing in birds and drones

Enrico Ajanic

To aid humans in civilian tasks, future drones will have to operate in large cities that abound with difficult flight conditions such as confined spaces, obstacles, and turbulent air. Such drones must cruise efficiently to cover vast distances fast and als ...

EPFL2023

Fluid-structure interactions of bristled wings: the trade-off between weight and drag

Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Matteo Pezzulla, Yuexia Luna Lin

The smallest flying insects often have bristled wings resembling feathers or combs. We combined experiments and three-dimensional numerical simulations to investigate the trade-off between wing weight and drag generation. In experiments of bristled strips, ...

Royal Soc2023

Modulation of the Leading-Edge Vortex Shedding Rate in Discrete-Vortex Methods

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Guosheng He

A new method to determine the rate of circulation fed into a leading-edge vortex (LEV) is presented for discrete-vortex methods (DVM). The strength of vortex particles shed from the leading edge is calculated based on the velocity at the shear layer, which ...

2022

To tread or not to tread: comparison between water treading and conventional flapping wing kinematics

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Alexander Gehrke, Swathi Badala Krishna

Hovering insects are limited by their physiology and need to rotate their wings at the end of each back-and-forth motion to keep the wing's leading edge ahead of its trailing edge. The wing rotation at the end of each half-stroke pushes the leading edge vo ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2022

Sharp turning maneuvers with avian-inspired wing and tail morphing

Dario Floreano, Valentin Wüest, Enrico Ajanic

Flight in dense environments, such as forests and cities requires drones to perform sharp turns. Although fixed-wing drones are aerodynamically and energetically more efficient than multicopters, they require a comparatively larger area to turn and thus ar ...

2022

All you need is time to generalise the Goman-Khrabrov dynamic stall model

Fatma Ayancik Cinoglu, Karen Ann J Mulleners

Dynamic stall on airfoils negatively impacts their aerodynamic performance and can lead to structural damage. Accurate prediction and modelling of the dynamic stall loads are crucial for a more robust design of wings and blades that operate under unsteady ...

Cambridge University Press2022

Experimental investigation of surface roughness effect on a free-flight sphere in a Ludwieg tube

Seong-Hyeon Park

Understanding the aerodynamic coefficients of meteoroid fragments, deorbiting space debris, or launch vehicle stages through atmospheric reentry is essential for ground risk assessments. In high enthalpy flow, surface roughness is a crucial factor affectin ...

KOREAN SOC MECHANICAL ENGINEERS2022

Aeroelastic characterisation of a bio-inspired flapping membrane wing

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Alexander Gehrke

Natural fliers like bats exploit the complex fluid-structure interaction between their flexible membrane wings and the air with great ease. Yet, replicating and scaling the balance between the structural and fluid-dynamical parameters of unsteady membrane ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2022

Growth, timing, & trajectory of vortices behind a rotating plate

Diego Francescangeli

The presence of aerodynamic vortices is widespread in nature. They can be found at small scales near the wing tip of flying insects or at bigger scale in the form of hurricanes, cyclones or even galaxies. They are identified as coherent regions of high vor ...

EPFL2022

From coating flow patterns to porous body wake dynamics via multiscale models

Pier Giuseppe Ledda

Multiscale phenomena are involved in countless problems in fluid mechanics. Coating flows are known to exhibit a broad variety of patterns, such as wine tears in a glass and dripping of fresh paint applied on a wall. Coating flows are typically modeled und ...

EPFL2022

Experimental quantification of unsteady leading-edge flow separation

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Julien Dominique Claude Deparday

We propose here a method to experimentally quantify unsteady leading-edge flow separation on aerofoils with finite thickness. The methodology relies on the computation of a leading-edge suction parameter based on measured values of the partial circulation ...

Cambridge University Press2022

Lagrangian analysis of bio-inspired vortex ring formation

Karen Ann J Mulleners, Mrudhula Baskaran

Pulsatile jet propulsion is a highly energy-efficient swimming mode used by various species of aquatic animals that continues to inspire engineers of underwater vehicles. Here, we present a bio-inspired jet propulsor that combines the flexible hull of a je ...

2022

Water vapor transport in snowpacks

Mahdi Jafari

This thesis is an in-depth treatment of water vapor transport in snowpacks and its impacts on snow structure. The aim is to better understand this transport process and to lay the basis for a model representation in physics-based multi-layer snow models. O ...

EPFL2022

Self-Replenishing, Wear-Resistant and Anti-Sticking Surfaces Based on Liquid Impregnation of Microstructured Mesoporous α-AI₂O₃ [Alpha Alumina] Matrices

Sriharitha Rowthu

Fabrication of wear-resistant omniphobic surfaces is a persistent scientific challenge and essential for various applications such as in paint industries, fluid transport, antifouling, reduction of friction drag on ship hulls, and stain resistant textiles. ...

EPFL2016