Posts by Collection

portfolio

Hydrodynamics of Robotic Fish Schooling

How phase and formation shape the hydrodynamic benefit of swimming in a group (2025–present)

Surfing on Vortices: Bird Flight in a Structured Vortex Wake

Ph.D. thesis work — live birds flying through a controlled vortex street (2020–2025)

Surfing Wing: Aerodynamic Forces in a Two-Dimensional Vortex Wake

An instrumented airfoil surfing a controlled vortex street, and a model that predicts its lift (2022–2025)

Flaproo: A Bat-Inspired Flapping Wing Robot

Independent control of flapping, wing folding and wing twist — featured by National Geographic

Active Gurney Flap for Wind Turbine Load Control

Proportional aerodynamic control on a wind turbine blade section (2019–2023)

USC Raven: Compliant Flapping Wing Ornithopter

Independently controlled, compliant wing ornithopter (2018–2019)

Distributed Multi-Vectored Propulsion (DMVP) System

Direct force controlled propulsion system for aggressive maneuvering

publications

Distributed Vectored Propulsion System

Published in China Patent, 2016

Recommended citation: S. Hao, F. Yang, X. Jiang, T. Li. Distributed Vectored Propulsion System[P]. CN105151292B. 2.2016 https://patents.google.com/patent/CN105151292B/

Distributed Vectored Propulsion Mechanism

Published in China Patent, 2016

Recommended citation: S. Hao, F. Yang, X. Jiang. Distributed Vectored Propulsion Mechanism [P]. CN205034337U. 7.2016 https://patents.google.com/patent/CN205034337U/

Omnidirectional Gimbaled Mechanism based on Ring Gear

Published in China Patent, 2018

Recommended citation: S. Hao, F. Yang, P Tang, Y. Feng, H. Li. Omnidirectional Gimbaled Mechanism based on Ring Gear [P]. CN107117288A. 9.2018 https://patents.google.com/patent/CN107117288B/

3D Printing of Flexible Liquid Sensor Based on Swelling Behavior of Hydrogel with Carbon Nanotubes

Published in Advanced Materials Technologies, 2019

Recommended citation: X. Li, Y. Yang, B. Xie, M. Chu, H. Sun, S. Hao, Y. Chen, Y. Chen. 3D Printing of Flexible Liquid Sensor Based on Swelling Behavior of Hydrogel with Carbon Nanotubes [J]. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2019, 4(2): 1800476. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201800476

Using an Active Gurney Flap to Modify the Performance of a Wind Turbine Wing Section

Published in AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum, 2022

Recommended citation: Siyang Hao, John Cooney, Neal Fine and Kenny S. Breuer. Using an Active Gurney Flap to Modify the Performance of a Wind Turbine Wing Section [C]. SCITECH 2022 Forum. AIAA 2022-2293 https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-2293

Proportional Control of Aerodynamic Forces using an Active Gurney Flap on a Wind Turbine Blade Section

Published in AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum, 2023

Wind tunnel experiments over Re = 160,000–414,000 show that proportional deployment of an active Gurney flap improves lift and pitching moment with an increased lift-to-drag ratio, with the maximum effect near 70 degrees of deployment.

Recommended citation: S. Hao, A. Koh-Bell, R. Irani, J. Kirsch-Posner, K. Breuer. Proportional Control of Aerodynamic Forces using an Active Gurney Flap on a Wind Turbine Blade Section [C]. AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum, AIAA 2023-0459. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-0459

It Pays to Follow the Leader: Metabolic Cost of Flight is Lower for Trailing Birds in Small Groups

Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024

Combining wind tunnel flight tests, kinematic tracking and metabolic measurements on European Starlings to quantify the energetic benefit of trailing positions in small flocks.

Recommended citation: S. I. Friman, C. R. Elowe, S. Hao, L. Mendez, R. Ayala, I. Brown, C. Hagood, Y. Hedlund, D. Jackson, J. Killi, G. Orfanides, E. Ozcan, J. Ramirez, A. R. Gerson, K. S. Breuer, T. L. Hedrick. It pays to follow the leader: Metabolic cost of flight is lower for trailing birds in small groups [J]. PNAS, 2024, 121(26): e2319971121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319971121

Upstroke Wing Clapping in Bats and Bat-Inspired Robots Offers Efficient Lift Generation

Published in Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2025

Experiments with bats and a bat-inspired flapping robot show that clapping the wings during the upstroke enhances lift generation while improving power economy.

Recommended citation: X. Fan, A. Bortoni, S. Hao, S. Swartz, K. Breuer. Upstroke wing clapping in bats and bat-inspired robots offers efficient lift generation [J]. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2025, 22(223): 20240590. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2024.0590

Proportional Control of Aerodynamic Forces Using an Active Gurney Flap on a Wind Turbine Blade Section

Published in Wind Energy, 2025

Real-time, proportional deployment of an active Gurney flap near the trailing edge of a wind turbine blade section is used to modulate lift and pitching moment, with the aerodynamic response scaling with deployment angle.

Recommended citation: S. Hao, A. Koh-Bell, R. Irani, J. Kirsch-Posner, K. Breuer. Proportional Control of Aerodynamic Forces Using an Active Gurney Flap on a Wind Turbine Blade Section [J]. Wind Energy, 2025, 28(10): e70056. https://doi.org/10.1002/we.70056

teaching

AME 341 Mechoptronics

Workshop, University of Southern California, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, 2015

Siyang Hao