Work

Design of a High-Performance Biomimetic Butterfly Flyer

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: To achieve miniaturization and lightweight design of a flapping-wing aircraft, a high-performance biomimetic butterfly flyer was designed based on an analysis of the butterfly’s body structure and flight principles. The aircraft has a mass of 20.6 g and a wingspan of 0.295 m. To validate the rationality of the design, sensitivity analysis of the flapping-wing drive mechanism was first conducted using MATLAB 2022B software, and the length of the driving rod was optimized. Subsequently, a dynamic model was established to calculate the aerodynamic performance of the flapping wing. Then, the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft was verified using simulation software (XFLOW 2022). Finally, the flight stability of the aircraft was validated using the SIMULINK toolbox. Flight test results show that the biomimetic butterfly flyer achieves a maximum flight speed of 0.9 m/s, a climb rate of 0.12 m/s, and a flight endurance of up to 3 min, with good flight stability. This design provides a new approach for the development of small and lightweight flapping-wing aircraft.

Source: Machines

DOI: 10.3390/machines13090829

Authors: Zhihan Li, Gaolei Qiu, Daqian Zhang, Hongshuang Li

Institution: Shenyang Aerospace University

Language: English

Topic: Biomimetic flight and propulsion mechanisms

Subfield: Aerospace Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Department of Science and Technology of Liaoning Province