Aerolelasticity studies show the importance of wing flexibility, and its influence on aerodynamic paramenters is an open research field for both fixed and flapping airfoils.
This work is about the study and analysis of a variable stiffness concept for flexural behaviour control of a flapping wing in Portwings project context. Variable stiffness solutions are common in soft robotics, and some examples in fixed wing aerodynamics can be found, but there is no previous work in this sense in flapping wing aerodynamics.
This can lead to the possibility of performing aeroelastic wind tunnel studies and experiments without the need of changing any components.