Aerodynamic performance of rigid and flexible wings in turbulent environment

Manoeuvrability of unmanned air vehicles in complex environment is critically important and is extremely challenging. The complexity of the environment leads to turbulent conditions and improving the performance and efficiency of UAVs under these conditions require deep understanding of the aerodynamic phenomena of wings in turbulent environment. In this project, the aim is to carry out a range of high-fidelity experiments to understand the flow over rigid and flexible wings in turbulent conditions. Wind tunnel experiments will be designed, developed and carried out where the inflow will be systematically varied (to different turbulent conditions) and performance of wings will be measured. The experiments will range from time-resolved force and moment measurements to advanced image-based diagnostics to measurements the flow and the structural deformations of rigid and flexible wings. The resulting data will be analysed to gain a deep understanding of the phenomena as well as extract simple aerodynamic models that can be used for flow and flight control.