|
| |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Home Help Feedback Subscriptions Archive Search Table of Contents | ||||
First published online August 4, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 3075-3092 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01744
The aerodynamic effects of wing–wing interaction in flapping insect wings
1 Biofuture Research Group, Department of Neurobiology, University of Ulm,
89069 Ulm, Germany
2 Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800,
USA
3 California Institute of Technology, MC 138-78, Pasadena, CA 91125,
USA
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: fritz.lehmann{at}uni-ulm.de)
Accepted 8 June 2005
We employed a dynamically scaled mechanical model of the small fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (Reynolds number 100–200) to investigate force enhancement due to contralateral wing interactions during stroke reversal (the `clap-and-fling'). The results suggest that lift enhancement during clap-and-fling requires an angular separation between the two wings of no more than 10–12°. Within the limitations of the robotic apparatus, the clap-and-fling augmented total lift production by up to 17%, but depended strongly on stroke kinematics. The time course of the interaction between the wings was quite complex. For example, wing interaction attenuated total force during the initial part of the wing clap, but slightly enhanced force at the end of the clap phase. We measured two temporally transient peaks of both lift and drag enhancement during the fling phase: a prominent peak during the initial phase of the fling motion, which accounts for most of the benefit in lift production, and a smaller peak of force enhancement at the end fling when the wings started to move apart. A detailed digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) analysis during clap-and-fling showed that the most obvious effect of the bilateral `image' wing on flow occurs during the early phase of the fling, due to a strong fluid influx between the wings as they separate. The DPIV analysis revealed, moreover, that circulation induced by a leading edge vortex (LEV) during the early fling phase was smaller than predicted by inviscid two-dimensional analytical models, whereas circulation of LEV nearly matched the predictions of Weis-Fogh's inviscid model at late fling phase. In addition, the presence of the image wing presumably causes subtle modifications in both the wake capture and viscous forces. Collectively, these effects explain some of the changes in total force and lift production during the fling. Quite surprisingly, the effect of clap-and-fling is not restricted to the dorsal part of the stroke cycle but extends to the beginning of upstroke, suggesting that the presence of the image wing distorts the gross wake structure throughout the stroke cycle.
Key words: clap-and-fling, wake capture, wing–wake interaction, leading edge vortex LEV, robotic wing, digital particle image velocimetry, Drosophila
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. A. Miller and C. S. Peskin Flexible clap and fling in tiny insect flight J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2009; 212(19): 3076 - 3090. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. M Walker, A. L.R Thomas, and G. K Taylor Photogrammetric reconstruction of high-resolution surface topographies and deformable wing kinematics of tethered locusts and free-flying hoverflies J R Soc Interface, April 6, 2009; 6(33): 351 - 366. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Liu and M. Sun Wing kinematics measurement and aerodynamics of hovering droneflies J. Exp. Biol., July 1, 2008; 211(13): 2014 - 2025. [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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
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]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Bender and M. H. Dickinson Visual stimulation of saccades in magnetically tethered Drosophila J. Exp. Biol., August 15, 2006; 209(16): 3170 - 3182. [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]
|
|
