Simulation of bird wing flapping using the unsteady vortex lattice method

The flight of barnacle geese at airspeeds representing high-speed migrating flight is investigated using experiments and simulations. The experimental part of the work involved the filming of three barnacle geese flying at different airspeeds in a wind tunnel. The video footage was analysed in order to extract the wing kinematics. Additional information, such as wing geometry and camber was obtained from a 3D scan of a dried wing. An unsteady vortex lattice method was used to simulate the aerodynamics of the measured flapping motion. It was found that the simulation correctly predicted the shape of the wake and the fact that the wing is aerodynamically inactive during the upstroke. The predicted aerodynamic lift and thrust forces were very sensitive to the wing's camber. Future work will attempt to identify the sensitivity to all the wing shape and kinematic parameters. Additional phenomena will also be modelled, including passive twisting of the wingtip, body lift and leading edge suction.