Norman Wereley - Böcker

This paper reviews some of the important technical barriers that must be overcome to achieve truly efficient flying adaptive micro air vehicles (MAVs). As defined by the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), MAVs are vehicles with no length dimension greater than 6 inches. These vehicles typically weigh less than 100 grams and some can fly for approximately 30 minutes. Over the past decade significant progress has been made in developing these small-scale mechanical flying machines. However, there is still much work to be done if these vehicles are to approach the efficiency and performance of biological fliers. This paper reviews the status of current miniature mechanical flying machines and compares their performance with common biological flyers such as birds, and small insects. This comparison reveals that advances in aerodynamic efficiency, lightweight and adaptive wing structures, energy conversion/propulsion systems and flight control are required to match or exceed the performance of nature’s great flyers.

This paper reviews some of the important technical barriers that must be overcome to achieve truly efficient flying adaptive micro air vehicles (MAVs). As defined by the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA), MAVs are vehicles with no length dimension greater than 6 inches. These vehicles typically weigh less than 100 grams and some can fly for approximately 30 minutes. Over the past decade significant progress has been made in developing these small-scale mechanical flying machines. However, there is still much work to be done if these vehicles are to approach the efficiency and performance of biological fliers. This paper reviews the status of current miniature mechanical flying machines and compares their performance with common biological flyers such as birds, and small insects. This comparison reveals that advances in aerodynamic efficiency, lightweight and adaptive wing structures, energy conversion/propulsion systems and flight control are required to match or exceed the performance of nature’s great flyers.

Introduction to Vibration in Engineering is a concise text that helps students master the fundamentals of vibration. Students develop a solid understanding of single-degree-of-freedom systems that can be used as building blocks to tackle more difficult and general multi-degree-of-freedom systems. The text also introduces the Lagrange equation approach, which can be used to construct equations of motion for complex systems.Dedicated chapters cover the dynamic responses of single-degree-of-freedom and multi-degree-of-freedom systems, dynamic stability, vibration absorbers, vibration of slender bodies, modal identification, finite element modeling, and more. Each chapter features problem sets that challenge students to apply what they have learned.The fourth edition features new equations, updated figures, refined explanations and question prompts, and new information on the modal approach to damped MDOF systems and the assembly of global mass matrix, stiffness matrix, and load vector.Designed for undergraduate seniors and first-year graduate students, Introduction to Vibration in Engineering is ideal for courses in aerospace and mechanical engineering. Use of the text requires sophomore-level mathematics ability, including elementary linear algebra.