JOURNAL OF AIRCRAFT

Vol. 48, No. 6, NovemberDecember 2011

Modal Analysis of a Flexible Membrane Wing of Micro Air Vehicles

Uttam Kumar Chakravarty
U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida 32579
and
Roberto Albertani
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331

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DOI: 10.2514/1.C031393
A biologically inspired exible wing for micro air vehicles applications is constructed with a prestrained latex
membrane, attached to a thin aluminum ring with elliptical planform shape. The wing is placed inside a low-speed
wind tunnel and the strains of the membrane due to the aerodynamic loads are measured using the visual image
correlation technique at different angles of attack and freestream velocities. Finite element models are developed for
investigating the modal characteristics of the wing including the effect of added mass, damping, and aerodynamic
loads. For validating the nite element models, experimental modal analysis of a prestrained membrane is conducted
inside a vacuum chamber at different ambient pressures. Natural frequencies of the wing increase with mode and
strain level of the membrane, but decrease in air from those in vacuum, due to the added mass of air. Damping of air is
low and has minimal effect on the natural frequencies of the wing, but assists to reduce the out-of-plane modal
amplitude of vibration.

to operate at resonance frequency. Furthermore, bats can control their

wing characteristics by changing the level of prestrain in their wings
membrane, thus effectively changing the wing camber and the
passive aeroelastic dynamic feedback of the membrane to the aerodynamic loading [2]. Insects are by far the oldest, most numerous,
and smallest ying machines. Wootton [35] and Ennos and Wootton
[6] investigated various insects, morphology of insect wings, ight
mechanics, and control behavior. Combes and Daniel [7] and Daniel
and Combes [8] examined the effect of aerodynamic and inertialelastic forces on the bending deformation and modal characteristics
of insect wings. Wings of the insects are twisted for controlling the
ight. Clearly, wing stiffness distribution and exibility are essential
aspects when considering natural yers. The well-known class of
materials which function in supportive systems through deformation
has been classied by biologists as pliant materials and include
proteins, soft connective tissues, and cartilage.
Biologically inspired MAV wings (Fig. 1) are constructed by
attaching prestrained hyperelastic membrane to metallic/composite
reinforced structures and the modal characteristics (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of the wings are controlled mainly by the
prestrained membrane due to signicantly lower stiffnesses than
those of metallic/composite reinforced structures. The modal characteristics of the wings can be tuned by changing the prestrain level of
the membrane and also depend on the added mass, damping, and
aerodynamic pressure of surrounding air.
Recently, there has been signicant progress in the understanding
of the aerodynamics of low Reynolds number articial and natural
ight [9], though the structural dynamics is still under early
numerical modeling efforts. The aerodynamic models and ight
control design of xed [9] and apping wings [10] must include the
wing exibility and structural dynamics, an area where very little
experimental data is available. Experimental modal analysis of the
membrane was presented by Chakravarty and Albertani [11], Sewall
et al. [12], Gaspar et al. [13], and Jenkins and Korde [14]. Graves
et al. [15] conducted the dynamic deformation measurements of a
MAVRICI semispan wing in a wind tunnel. Shape and strain
measurements using visual image correlation (VIC) and aerodynamic coefcients evaluations for different congurations of membrane
MAV wings in the wind tunnel were performed in steady conditions
[16,17]. Critical experimental work showed the dependency of
modal characteristics of microstructures with ambient pressure [18].
Analytical and nite element (FE) models to explain the structural
behavior of natural and articial xed and apping wings are at an
early stage of development. The large amplitude of wings deformation, the nonlinear interaction with the ow, and the lack of

Nomenclature
a, b
C1 , C2
c
F
f
h
k
m
R
u, v, w
V1
x, y, z

m ,
k


!

=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=

major and minor radii of an ellipse, respectively

hyperelastic MooneyRivlin material parameters
viscous damping coefcient
force
frequency
thickness
stiffness
mass
radius of a circle
Cartesian coordinate displacements
freestream velocity
Cartesian coordinate directions
Rayleigh damping parameters
damping ratio
density
circular frequency (
2f)

I. Introduction

ICRO air vehicles (MAVs) are small (wing span on the order
of 100 mm) and can y at low ight speeds (up to 15 m=s) in
areas, where operate large aircraft are not feasible or expensive to
operate, especially for surveillance and measurement purposes. The
design and operation of MAVs of similar proportions to natural yers
emphasize the intricate but vital aeroelastic features mastered by
biological systems. A particular form of these enhanced ying
abilities benets from the use of exible lifting surfaces: either xed
or apping. Birds and bats twist and bend their wings while
maneuvering for optimal aerodynamics. Locusts use specialized
dome-shaped sensory organs (campaniform sensillae) within the
structure of their wings [1]. These feedback sensors respond
specically to wing deformation in order to trigger the wing structure
Received 2 February 2011; revision received 16 May 2011; accepted for
publication 17 May 2011. This material is declared a work of the U.S.
Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
Copies of this paper may be made for personal or internal use, on condition
that the copier pay the $10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center,
Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 0021-8669/
11 and $10.00 in correspondence with the CCC.

National Research Council Postdoctoral Research Associate, Munitions

Directorate. Senior Member AIAA.

Research Associate Professor, School of Mechanical, Industrial, and

Manufacturing Engineering. Member AIAA.
1960

CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

1961

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Fig. 1 Two MAVs from the MAV Laboratory at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

quantitative experimental results for validation limit the numerical

models applications. The nonlinear vibration of hyperelastic
membrane was investigated by a few researchers [1925]. Gonalves
et al. [19] developed analytical and FE models for examining the
dynamic behavior of a radially stretched circular hyperelastic
membrane without the effect of added mass of surrounding uid. Zhu
et al. [20] investigated the resonant behavior of a prestrained circular
membrane of a dielectric elastomer without the effect of damping of
surrounding uid.
This paper presents the FE models to evaluate the modal characteristics of a circular membrane at different prestrain levels and a
exible membrane wing of MAVs. The FE modal analysis of the
prestrained circular membrane is validated by the experimental
results. The prestrained membrane is attached to a rigid circular steel
ring, mounted on the shaker, and placed inside a vacuum chamber for
investigating the effect of added mass and damping of air on the
modal characteristics at different ambient pressures. The exible
membrane wing of MAVs is constructed by attaching the prestrained
membrane to a thin elliptical aluminum ring. The wing is placed in a
low-speed wind tunnel, where the strain levels of the membrane due
to aerodynamic loads are measured at different angles of attack and
freestream velocities. FE model is developed for investigating the
effect of added mass, damping, and aerodynamic loads on the modal
characteristics (natural frequencies and mode shapes) of the wing.

membrane characteristics. The thickness and density of the latex

membrane are estimated 0:1016  0:0508 mm and 980 kg=m3 ,
respectively, by the manufacturer (TAN Thera-Band band, Hygeni
Corporation). The average thickness of the membrane specimens is
measured by the authors and 0:15  0:01 mm is a reasonable
assumption for the FE models. MooneyRivlin material model
[26,27] is considered for this hyperelastic latex membrane. The
MooneyRivlin material parameters are calculated based on the
uniaxial tension experimental data and the parameters are C1

18:088E4 Pa and C2
18:088E3 Pa [28].
A exible membrane wing (Fig. 3) is constructed for investigating
the effect of added mass, damping, and aerodynamic loads on the
modal characteristics. The prestrained latex membrane (thickness of
0:15  0:01 mm) is attached to an elliptical aluminum ring
(thickness of 1.5 mm) of major and minor inner radii, 96 mm and
46 mm; and outer radii, 100 mm and 50 mm; respectively. The ring is
attached (symmetric to the minor axis) to a thin rectangular plate of
dimensions, 100  3  10 mm with a round of radius, 10 mm at a
corner. The rectangular plate is attached to the xture inside the wind
tunnel and the plate is rounded at a corner (which faces the air ow
direction) for reducing the drag. Aluminum Al 6061 T6 (density of
2700 kg=m3 , modulus of elasticity of 68.9 GPa, and Poissons ratio
of 0.33) is selected as the material of the ring and the plate.

B.

II.
A.

Experimental Setup and Procedure

Test Specimen

A rubber latex membrane at different prestrain levels is attached to

a circular steel ring of inner and outer diameters 102.5 and 113.2 mm,
respectively, as shown in Fig. 2. The steel ring is considered rigid due
to signicantly high stiffnesses comparing with those of latex
membrane and the steel-ring-membrane specimen provides only the

C.

Fig. 2 Prestrained latex membrane attached to the circular steel ring

mounted on the shaker.

Membrane Deformation Measurement

It is important to measure the applied strains at different directions

on the membrane because the modal characteristics depend on the
strain level of the membrane. The strain levels of the membrane are
measured using a noncontact method, VIC technique [29]. Images
are captured with two high-speed Phantom version 7 CMOS
cameras, capable of storing 2,900 frames in an in-camera ashmemory buffer. Typical data results obtained from the VIC system
consist of geometry of the surface in Cartesian coordinates (x, y,
and z) and the corresponding displacements (u, v, and w). A
postprocessing option involves calculating the in-plane strains, "xx ,
"yy , and "xy .
Experimental Setup

The membrane specimen with different prestrain levels is attached

to a circular steel ring, mounted on the shaker (shown in Fig. 2), and
placed inside the vacuum chamber (shown in Fig. 4), where ambient
pressure can be controlled for investigating the effect of added mass
of air on the modal characteristics of the membrane. The complex
burst chirp signal is considered as the base excitation for all prestrain
levels of the membrane and the frequency sweeps range from 2 to
1000 Hz [30]. The time varying out-of-plane deformation (w) of the
membrane specimen is recorded by scanning laser Doppler vibrometer, Polytec PSV-400. MEscope is used to process the data by fast
Fourier transform and identify the modes (modal frequencies and
damping ratios). The eigenvectors (mode shapes), eigenvalues
(natural frequencies), and damping ratios of the membrane are
measured at different ambient pressures inside the vacuum chamber.

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1962

CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

Fig. 3 Undeformed and mode shapes of the ring, membrane, and wing for spatial average membrane prestrains, "xx
0:0464 and "yy
0:0334 (no
aerodynamic strain).

The elliptical wing is also placed inside a low-speed wind tunnel at

different angles of attack and freestream velocities, where the strain
level of the wings membrane due to the aerodynamic loads is
measured using the VIC system.

III.

Finite Element Models

The nite element (FE) models are developed for investigating the
modal characteristics of a circular membrane and an elliptical wing
using the FE analysis software, Abaqus 6.9 [31]. The FE models are
developed using M3D6 (six-node quadratic triangular membrane)
and C3D10 (10-node quadratic tetrahedron element) type of
elements for the membrane and aluminum ring attached to the plate,
respectively. Elastic material model, where stress is directly proportional to strain (Hookes law), can not be used for the membrane due
to large nonlinear deformation behavior at quasi-static loading.

Mooney [26], Rivlin [32,33], Rivlin and Saunders [34], and Treloar
[35] are the pioneers of developing the hyperelastic material models.
There are several nonlinear hyperelastic material models available,
such as MooneyRivlin, Ogden, neo-Hookean, Yeoh, and Arruda
Boyce [27,3645]. It is found that the MooneyRivlin and Ogden
hyperelastic material models are considered to be the most accurate
for predicting the deformation using biaxial and uniaxial stretching
tests [46]. FE models are developed based on the hyperelastic
MooneyRivlin material model of the membrane. The added mass of
surrounding air is added in the FE models. The damping is provided
in the FE models as Rayleigh damping parameters. The convergence
of the natural frequencies of the circular membrane is studied and it is
found that the frequencies converge even at lower degrees of freedom
(on the order of 1000). The strain level of the membrane of the
elliptical wing due to the aerodynamic loads is calculated from the
wind-tunnel test data at different angles of attack and freestream

1963

CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

a

 
added mass
8 R



volume of the membrane specimen 3 h f

(7)

where h is the thickness of the membrane. As a result, the effective

density of the membrane specimen is, e
  a .
The added mass ma can be calculated for an elliptical thin
specimen when it vibrates in air and a
2b from the following
equation [47]:
ma
0:4143a2 bf

(8)

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where a, b, and f are major and minor radii of the elliptical thin
specimen and density of surrounding air, respectively. The effect of
added mass is considered for the membrane and ring, but is neglected
for the attached plate of the wing for the FE models.
B.
Fig. 4 Membrane specimen mounted on the shaker and positioned
inside the vacuum chamber. Partial VIC system is also shown in the
gure.

velocities. These aerodynamic strains are added with the prestrains of

the membrane and provided as input data for the FE models. The
in-plane shear strain "xy is neglected for the FE models because "xy is
small, compared with "xx and "yy .
A.

Damping

The surrounding air also adds damping. Rayleigh damping is

considered for the FE models. In Rayleigh damping, the global
damping matrix [c] is proportional to both the mass matrix [m] and
stiffness matrix [k] by the constants
m and
k and can be expressed
as
c

m m 
k k
where

Added Mass

m

For simplicity, a single-degree-of-freedom spring-mass-dashpot

system is considered for explaining the concept of added mass of the
surrounding air. The equation of motion for free vibration of the
system in vacuum is
mx
 cx_  kx
0

(9)

2!1 !2 1 !2  2 !1 
!22  !21

k

22 !2  1 !1 
!22  !21

and !n and n are the nth-mode natural frequency in vacuum and nthmode damping ratio, respectively. The natural frequencies of a
specimen are calculated using the FE model in vacuum.

(1)

where m, c, k, and x are mass, viscous damping coefcient, stiffness,

and absolute displacement of the mass, respectively.
The surrounding air exerts force, Fa when it vibrates in air. The
added mass ma of the surrounding air opposes the movement during
vibration. In this situation, the equation of motion is
mx
 cx_  kx
Fa

(2)

) me x
 cx_  kx
0

(3)

where Fa
ma x
and the effective mass me
m  ma . The natural

frequency f of the system is
s






1
k
f

(4)
2 me

IV.
A.

Results and Discussion

Validation of the Finite Element Models

The FE models are validated by experimental modal analysis of a

prestrained latex membrane attached to a circular steel ring. The rst
three natural frequencies of the membrane specimens are computed
at different ambient pressures inside a vacuum chamber by both
laboratory experiments and FE modeling and shown in Figs. 5 and 6
for two different prestrain levels. The frequencies at zero ambient
pressure indicate that the frequencies are computed in vacuum by the
FE model. It is not possible to perform experiments at ambient
pressure less than 9.325 kPa with the available vacuum chamber
setup. So the modal characteristics of the membrane can not be found
through experiments in vacuum (without the effect of added mass). It
is noted from Figs. 5 and 6 that natural frequencies increase with
prestrain level of the membrane and mode, but reduce with ambient

As a result, the natural frequencies decrease due to the effect of added

mass. The damping ratio  can be calculated from the following
equation:
c

p









kme

(5)

So the added mass is the mass of the air that is required to accelerate
for the acceleration of the body. The added mass depends on the
geometry of the body and the density of air. The added mass ma can
be calculated for a circular membrane when it vibrates in air from the
following equation [47]:
ma
83R3 f

(6)

where R and f are the radius of the circular membrane and the
density of surrounding air, respectively. The density of the circular
membrane is increased due to the added mass of air and can be
calculated by dividing the added mass with the volume of the
membrane specimen from the following equation:

Fig. 5 Natural frequencies vs ambient pressure plots for the membrane

specimen with spatial average "xx
0:0524 and "yy
0:0579 prestrain
level.

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1964

CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

Fig. 6 Natural frequencies vs ambient pressure plots for the membrane

specimen with spatial average "xx
0:0525 and "yy
0:0769 prestrain
level.

pressure. Natural frequencies decrease due to increase in ambient

pressure because the added mass of air increases with ambient
pressure and reduces the natural frequencies. Natural frequencies are
expected to vary between those computed by experimental and FE
techniques within an acceptable limit due to the nonuniform thickness nature of the membrane. Additionally, nonuniform prestrain
distributions are a source of error, as well as the orthotropic nature of
the membrane (from the rolling process). Damping ratios are
computed from the experimental data and provided as input
parameters to the FE models. The variations of damping ratios and
error bars at 90% condence intervals of the membrane with ambient
pressure for two different spatial average prestrain levels are shown
in Figs. 7 and 8. It is found from Figs. 7 and 8 that the damping ratios
generally increase with ambient pressure, but decrease with mode.
Damping ratios are small (n
0:5% approximately), can be noisy
because of experimental error, and have minor inuence on the
natural frequencies. For example, natural frequencies fn of the
membrane reduce 0.00125% for damping ratios n
0:5% when
compared with those in vacuum due to
p













fn in fluid

1  n2
fn in vacuum
But damping ratios reduce the amplitude of vibration. The rst three
mode shapes of the membrane specimen with spatial average "xx

0:0524 and "yy
0:0579 prestrain level from the FE model in air at
atmospheric pressure are shown in Fig. 9.
B.

Fig. 7 Damping ratios vs ambient pressure plots for the membrane

specimen with spatial average "xx
0:0524 and "yy
0:0579 prestrain
level.

Fig. 8 Damping ratios vs ambient pressure plots for the membrane

specimen with spatial average "xx
0:0525 and "yy
0:0769 prestrain
level.

Finite Element Model of the Elliptical Wing

The wing is constructed by attaching the latex membrane of

spatial average prestrains "xx
0:0464  6:0816E  05 and "yy

0:0334  3:4599E  05 to a thin elliptical aluminum ring. The
variations of the in-plane spatial average strains "xx and "yy with 90%
condence intervals (error bars) of the membrane of the wing due to
the aerodynamic loads with angle of attack at three different
freestream velocities from the low-speed wind-tunnel tests are shown
in Fig. 10. Some sorts of variations of the in-plane strains of the
membrane are expected at higher freestream velocities due to the
vortex shedding. The in-plane strains of the membrane of the wing
due to the aerodynamic loads do not change with the angle of attack at
lower freestream velocities, 6 and 7:8 m=s. The in-plane strains of
the membrane of the wing due to the aerodynamic loads increase with
angle of attack up to a certain limit and then decrease because of the
stall of the wing at relatively higher freestream velocity,
V1
13 m=s. Damping ratios are assumed 0.5% for the FE model
of the wing based on the experimental modal analysis of the circular
membrane, shown in Figs. 7 and 8.
Natural frequencies of the wing increase with mode and strain
level of the membrane. Mode shapes of the wing also change with the
mode and strain level of the membrane. The rst three mode shapes

Fig. 9 Mode shapes for the membrane specimen with spatial average "xx
0:0524 and "yy
0:0579 prestrain level from the FE model in air at
atmospheric pressure.

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CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

Fig. 10 Variation of the in-plane spatial average strains: a) "xx and

b) "yy of the membrane of the wing due to the aerodynamic loads with
angles of attack at three different freestream velocities.

1965

of the ring, membrane, and wing from the FE model in air at

atmospheric pressure are shown in Fig. 3, where the effect of
aerodynamic loads is not considered. The natural frequencies of the
ring are higher than those of the membrane. As a result, the natural
frequencies and mode shapes of the wing are dominated by the
membrane characteristics.
The rst three mode shapes of the ring, membrane, and wing from
the FE model in air at atmospheric pressure are shown in Fig. 11,
where the effect of strains of the membrane due to the aerodynamic
loads at freestream velocity of 13 m=s and angle of attack of 20
is
considered. The natural frequencies of the membrane increase due to
the increase of the strain level from the previous case (Fig. 3), where
the effect of aerodynamic loads is not considered. The inuence of
the ring on the modal characteristics of the wing increases with mode.
The rst natural frequency of the ring is higher than that of the
membrane. So the rst natural frequency and mode shape of the wing
are similar to the membrane characteristics. The second and third
natural frequencies of the wing are less than those of the membrane
due to the deformation of the ring. The second mode shape of the
wing shows a slight deformation of the ring, but the third mode shape
of the wing clearly depicts the deformation of the ring as well as the
membrane.
The variation of the rst (fundamental) natural frequency of the
wing with angle of attack at three different freestream velocities is
shown in Fig. 12. Natural frequencies of the wing remain unchanged
with angle of attack at lower freestream velocities, 6 and 7:8 m=s, but
increase (due to increase of strain level of the membrane) with angle
of attack at relatively higher freestream velocity, 13 m=s, up to a
certain limit and then decrease due to the stall of the wing.

Fig. 11 Mode shapes of the ring, membrane, and wing for spatial average membrane strains, "xx
0:0947 and "yy
0:0781 (prestrains "xx
0:0464
and "yy
0:0334 and aerodynamic strains "xx
0:0483 and "yy
0:0447), freestream velocity of 13:0 m=s, and angle of attack of 20 .

1966

CHAKRAVARTY AND ALBERTANI

mental support from Joshua Martin. The authors also appreciate the
support from Mark Costello of Georgia Institute of Technology.

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References

Fig. 12 First mode frequency of the wing vs angle-of-attack plots at

three different freestream velocities.

V.

Conclusions

This paper presents the modal analysis of a circular latex

membrane and an elliptical wing for potential MAVapplications. The
FE model can predict the natural frequencies of the circular latex
membrane reasonably well comparing to those estimated by
experiments at different ambient pressures. A reasonable amount of
uncertainty is expected among the frequencies predicted by the FE
model and experiments due to the variation of the thickness of the
membrane, nonuniform prestrain distributions, and the orthotropic
nature of the membrane (from the rolling process). It is found from
the FE and experimental results that natural frequencies of the
membrane decrease with increase in ambient pressure of the vacuum
chamber by increasing the added mass effect of air. Natural
frequencies of the membrane increase with mode and prestrain level,
as expected. The damping ratios are low and have very minimal effect
on the natural frequencies, but contribute to the decrease of the
amplitude of vibration of the membrane.
The FE model is developed for investigating the modal characteristics of a exible membrane wing of MAVs. The wing is
constructed by attaching the prestrained membrane to a thin elliptical
aluminum ring. The aerodynamic strains and the prestrain of the
membrane, added mass, and damping of air are considered for the
modal characteristics of the wing. It is found that aerodynamic strains
of the membrane increase up to the stall of the wing and then decrease
with angle of attack at relatively higher freestream velocity. The
inuence of angle of attack on aerodynamic strains of the membrane
of the wing is minimal for lower freestream velocity. Natural
frequencies of the wing increase with mode and strain level of the
membrane therefore the modal frequencies are not signicantly
inuenced by the dynamic pressure loads for low and medium
velocities. The inuence of the ring on the natural frequencies and
mode shapes of the wing is increased with the strain level of the
membrane by increasing the aerodynamic loads (i.e., by increasing
the angle of attack and freestream velocity up to the stall of the wing).
The modal characteristics of the wing are dominated by the
membrane at lower strain level of the membrane, but the ring also
plays a signicant role at relatively higher strain level of the
membrane.

Acknowledgments
This research was performed while the rst author held a National
Research Council Research Associateship Award at the U.S. Air
Force Research Laboratory. The authors would like to thank the
support from the U.S. Air Force Ofce of Scientic Research under
contract FA9550-09-1-0072, with Victor Giurgiutiu (initiator) and
David Stargel as project monitors. The continuing support for
research activities from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories at
Eglin Air Force Base and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is also
greatly appreciated. The authors would also like to thank the experi-

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