Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies.

ABSTRACT: Flapping flight is one of the most costly forms of locomotion in animals. To limit energetic expenditures, flying insects thus developed multiple strategies. An effective mechanism to reduce flight power expenditures is the harvesting of kinetic energy from motion of the surrounding air. We here show an unusual mechanism of energy harvesting in an insect that recaptures the rotational energy of air vortices. The mechanism requires pronounced chordwise wing bending during which the wing surface momentary traps the vortex and transfers its kinetic energy to the wing within less than a millisecond. Numerical and robotic controls show that the decrease in vortex strength is minimal without the nearby wing surface. The measured energy recycling might slightly reduce the power requirements neede

SUBMITTER: Lehmann FO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7997922 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature