A simplified dynamic model for controlled insect hovering flight and control stability analysis

In this paper, the controlled stability of insect hovering flight is analyzed in detail based on a simplified dynamic model of the flyer and flow. The simplified dynamic model incorporates PID-based wing-kinematic controllers. The control stability of the hovering flight is evaluated based on the cycle-mean dynamic equations. The stability analyses and the simplified dynamic model allow us to derive and test the control coefficients for stable free hovering, firstly in the longitudinal mode of flight and then the lateral mode. In this manner, coefficients for wing-kinematic control for full CFD-FSI simulation could be obtained very efficiently. The coefficients thus determined are verified against full-fidelity CFD-FSI free flight simulations.