|
| |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
First published online October 27, 2003
Review Article |
The aerodynamics of insect flight
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
(e-mail: sane{at}u.washington.edu)
Accepted 12 August 2003
The flight of insects has fascinated physicists and biologists for more than a century. Yet, until recently, researchers were unable to rigorously quantify the complex wing motions of flapping insects or measure the forces and flows around their wings. However, recent developments in high-speed videography and tools for computational and mechanical modeling have allowed researchers to make rapid progress in advancing our understanding of insect flight. These mechanical and computational fluid dynamic models, combined with modern flow visualization techniques, have revealed that the fluid dynamic phenomena underlying flapping flight are different from those of non-flapping, 2-D wings on which most previous models were based. In particular, even at high angles of attack, a prominent leading edge vortex remains stably attached on the insect wing and does not shed into an unsteady wake, as would be expected from non-flapping 2-D wings. Its presence greatly enhances the forces generated by the wing, thus enabling insects to hover or maneuver. In addition, flight forces are further enhanced by other mechanisms acting during changes in angle of attack, especially at stroke reversal, the mutual interaction of the two wings at dorsal stroke reversal or wing–wake interactions following stroke reversal. This progress has enabled the development of simple analytical and empirical models that allow us to calculate the instantaneous forces on flapping insect wings more accurately than was previously possible. It also promises to foster new and exciting multi-disciplinary collaborations between physicists who seek to explain the phenomenology, biologists who seek to understand its relevance to insect physiology and evolution, and engineers who are inspired to build micro-robotic insects using these principles. This review covers the basic physical principles underlying flapping flight in insects, results of recent experiments concerning the aerodynamics of insect flight, as well as the different approaches used to model these phenomena.
Key words: insect flight, aerodynamics, Kramer effect, delayed stall, quasi-steady modeling, flapping flight, kinematics, forces, flows, leading edge vortex
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. M. Swartz, K. S. Breuer, and D. J. Willis Aeromechanics in aeroecology: flight biology in the aerosphere Integr. Comp. Biol., July 1, 2008; 48(1): 85 - 98. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. R. Frazier, J. F. Harrison, S. D. Kirkton, and S. P. Roberts Cold rearing improves cold-flight performance in Drosophila via changes in wing morphology J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2008; 211(13): 2116 - 2122. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. C. W. Tanner, M. Regnier, and T. L. Daniel A spatially explicit model of muscle contraction explains a relationship between activation phase, power and ATP utilization in insect flight J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2008; 211(2): 180 - 186. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F.-O. Lehmann When wings touch wakes: understanding locomotor force control by wake wing interference in insect wings J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2008; 211(2): 224 - 233. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z. J. Wang Aerodynamic efficiency of flapping flight: analysis of a two-stroke model J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2008; 211(2): 234 - 238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Aono, F. Liang, and H. Liu Near- and far-field aerodynamics in insect hovering flight: an integrated computational study J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2008; 211(2): 239 - 257. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Peng and J. O. Dabiri An overview of a Lagrangian method for analysis of animal wake dynamics J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2008; 211(2): 280 - 287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. L. Hedrick, J. R. Usherwood, and A. A. Biewener Low speed maneuvering flight of the rose-breasted cockatoo (Eolophus roseicapillus). II. Inertial and aerodynamic reorientation J. Exp. Biol., June 1, 2007; 210(11): 1912 - 1924. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F.-O. Lehmann and S. Pick The aerodynamic benefit of wing-wing interaction depends on stroke trajectory in flapping insect wings J. Exp. Biol., April 15, 2007; 210(8): 1362 - 1377. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Tanaka and K. Kawachi Response characteristics of visual altitude control system in Bombus terrestris J. Exp. Biol., November 15, 2006; 209(22): 4533 - 4545. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. L. Hedrick and T. L. Daniel Flight control in the hawkmoth Manduca sexta: the inverse problem of hovering J. Exp. Biol., August 15, 2006; 209(16): 3114 - 3130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. P. Sane Induced airflow in flying insects I. A theoretical model of the induced flow J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 2006; 209(1): 32 - 42. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. P. Sane and N. P. Jacobson Induced airflow in flying insects II. Measurement of induced flow J. Exp. Biol., January 1, 2006; 209(1): 43 - 56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F.-O. Lehmann, S. P. Sane, and M. Dickinson The aerodynamic effects of wing-wing interaction in flapping insect wings J. Exp. Biol., August 15, 2005; 208(16): 3075 - 3092. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. J. Borrell, J. A. Goldbogen, and R. Dudley Aquatic wing flapping at low Reynolds numbers: swimming kinematics of the Antarctic pteropod, Clione antarctica J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2005; 208(15): 2939 - 2949. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Boeddeker and M. Egelhaaf A single control system for smooth and saccade-like pursuit in blowflies J. Exp. Biol., April 15, 2005; 208(8): 1563 - 1572. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. H. Dickinson The Initiation and Control of Rapid Flight Maneuvers in Fruit Flies Integr. Comp. Biol., April 1, 2005; 45(2): 274 - 281. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. R. Usherwood, T. L. Hedrick, C. P. McGowan, and A. A. Biewener Dynamic pressure maps for wings and tails of pigeons in slow, flapping flight, and their energetic implications J. Exp. Biol., January 15, 2005; 208(2): 355 - 369. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
