Energy Efficiency of Linear Electromagnetic Actuators for Flapping Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

Blake McIvor and Javaan Chahl
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Blake McIvor: School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
Javaan Chahl: School of Engineering, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The development of flapping wing systems has been restricted by high power density requirements, comparatively large forces and the requirement for light weight. The use of linear electromagnetic actuators has had a small presence in the flapping wing literature when compared to other actuator types. This has been due to the high power consumption and low power output of this system when compared to resonant systems. This work assesses linear electromagnetic actuators presented in the literature and demonstrates the performance improvements achieved when the mechanism natural frequency is appropriately tuned. This process shows a reduction of input power consumption to 13% of the original power consumption. This improvement, combined with appropriate power electronic design, can reduce the perceived gap between linear electromagnetic actuators and solid-state actuators.

Keywords: flapping wing; actuation; electromagnetic; power electronics; motor drives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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