An investigation into the mechanisms that enhance lift in hovering flight.

What is it about?

This work aims to quantify the individual contributions of lift enhancing mechanisms at play in flapping hover flight. Previous researchers have identified three different mechanisms that increase lift in such flight: translation, end-of-stroke rotation, and wing-wake interaction. However, their effects are generally coupled and there is a lack of clarity about how each mechanism contributes. In this work, we investigate a special kind of hovering motion which enables us to identify the contribution of each of these mechanisms. We show that the translation of the airfoil primarily enhances lift. The effect of the wing -wake interaction is strongly dependant on the rotation rate but the rotaion itself does not provide any major ift enhancement.

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Why is it important?

This work provides new insight into the mechanism of lift enhancement in flapping hover flight and tries to throw light on a long-standing gray area in this field.

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