Development of a morphing micro air vehicle wing using the combined POD and LSE technique

The current research is based on a flow structure interaction problem in which a Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) wing experiences flow induced vibrations. The purpose of the current research is to use low dimensional tools, such as The Combined Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Linear Stochastic Estimation (LSE) technique, to develop flow control methods for the MAV. The heart of the Combined POD and LSE technique lies in its ability to use dynamic strain measurements from the wing to estimate the velocity flow field. When combined with piezoelectric devices, this technique aids in the development of an active MAV wing that has both sensing and morphing capabilities. In this paper we review the work to date where we have demonstrated the ability to estimate the wake flow velocity from dynamic strain. We then compare the strain spectrum from the MAV wing between measurements made both with and without piezoelectric actuation. We find that we are able to change the strain spectrum in such a way to suggest that we can obtain significant control authority with the current setup. As a necessary step in the approach, we also investigate the structural behavior of the MAV wing.