Dataset Information

Wing-kinematics measurement and aerodynamics in a small insect in hovering flight.

ABSTRACT: Wing-motion of hovering small fly Liriomyza sativae was measured using high-speed video and flows of the wings calculated numerically. The fly used high wingbeat frequency (?265?Hz) and large stroke amplitude (?182°); therefore, even if its wing-length (R) was small (R???1.4?mm), the mean velocity of wing reached ?1.5?m/s, the same as that of an average-size insect (R???3?mm). But the Reynolds number (Re) of wing was still low (?40), owing to the small wing-size. In increasing the stroke amplitude, the outer parts of the wings had a "clap and fling" motion. The mean-lift coefficient was high, ?1.85, several times larger than that of a cruising airplane. The partial "clap and fling" motion increased the lift by ?7%, compared with the case of no aerodynamic interaction between the wings. The fly mainly used the delayed stall mechanism to generate the high-lift. The lift-to-drag ratio is only 0.7 (for larger insects, Re being about 100 or higher, the ratio is 1-1.2); that is, although the small fly can produce enough lift to support its weight, it needs to overcome a larger drag to do so.

SUBMITTER: Cheng X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4863373 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Wing-kinematics measurement and aerodynamics in a small insect in hovering flight.

Cheng Xin X Sun Mao M

Scientific reports 20160511

Wing-motion of hovering small fly Liriomyza sativae was measured using high-speed video and flows of the wings calculated numerically. The fly used high wingbeat frequency (≈265 Hz) and large stroke amplitude (≈182°); therefore, even if its wing-length (R) was small (R ≈ 1.4 mm), the mean velocity of wing reached ≈1.5 m/s, the same as that of an average-size insect (R ≈ 3 mm). But the Reynolds number (Re) of wing was still low (≈40), owing to the small wing-size. In increasing the stroke amplitu ...[more]

PMID: 27168523

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Project description:This study used numerical and experimental approaches to investigate the role played by the clap-and-fling mechanism in enhancing force generation in hovering insect-like two-winged flapping-wing micro air vehicle (FW-MAV). The flapping mechanism was designed to symmetrically flap wings at a high flapping amplitude of approximately 192°. The clap-and-fling mechanisms were thereby implemented at both dorsal and ventral stroke reversals. A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was constructed based on three-dimensional wing kinematics to estimate the force generation, which was validated by the measured forces using a 6-axis load cell. The computed forces proved that the CFD model provided reasonable estimation with differences less than 8%, when compared with the measured forces. The measurement indicated that the clap and flings at both the stroke reversals augmented the average vertical force by 16.2% when compared with the force without the clap-and-fling effect. In the CFD simulation, the clap and flings enhanced the vertical force by 11.5% and horizontal drag force by 18.4%. The observations indicated that both the fling and the clap contributed to the augmented vertical force by 62.6% and 37.4%, respectively, and to the augmented horizontal drag force by 71.7% and 28.3%, respectively. The flow structures suggested that a strong downwash was expelled from the opening gap between the trailing edges during the fling as well as the clap at each stroke reversal. In addition to the fling phases, the influx of air into the low-pressure region between the wings from the leading edges also significantly contributed to augmentation of the vertical force. The study conducted for high Reynolds numbers also confirmed that the effect of the clap and fling was insignificant when the minimum distance between the two wings exceeded 1.2c (c = wing chord). Thus, the clap and flings were successfully implemented in the FW-MAV, and there was a significant improvement in the vertical force.

Dataset Information

Wing-kinematics measurement and aerodynamics in a small insect in hovering flight.

Publications

Wing-kinematics measurement and aerodynamics in a small insect in hovering flight.

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