The Complex Aerodynamic Footprint of Desert Locusts Revealed by Large-volume Tomographic Particle Image Velocimetry

Overview

Journal J R Soc Interface

Specialties Biology
Biomedical Engineering
Biophysics

Date 2015 Jun 5

PMID 26040598

Citations 11

Authors

Per Henningsson

Dirk Michaelis

Toshiyuki Nakata

Daniel Schanz

Reinhard Geisler

Andreas Schroder

Richard J Bomphrey

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Particle image velocimetry has been the preferred experimental technique with which to study the aerodynamics of animal flight for over a decade. In that time, hardware has become more accessible and the software has progressed from the acquisition of planes through the flow field to the reconstruction of small volumetric measurements. Until now, it has not been possible to capture large volumes that incorporate the full wavelength of the aerodynamic track left behind during a complete wingbeat cycle. Here, we use a unique apparatus to acquire the first instantaneous wake volume of a flying animal's entire wingbeat. We confirm the presence of wake deformation behind desert locusts and quantify the effect of that deformation on estimates of aerodynamic force and the efficiency of lift generation. We present previously undescribed vortex wake phenomena, including entrainment around the wing-tip vortices of a set of secondary vortices borne of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the shear layer behind the flapping wings.

Citing Articles

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Investigation of models to estimate flight performance of gliding birds from wakes.

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Lessons from natural flight for aviation: then, now and tomorrow.

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Towards locust-inspired gliding wing prototypes for micro aerial vehicle applications.

Isakhani H, Xiong C, Chen W, Yue S R Soc Open Sci. 2021; 8(6):202253.

PMID: 34234953 PMC: 8242835. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202253.

Insect and insect-inspired aerodynamics: unsteadiness, structural mechanics and flight control.

Bomphrey R, Godoy-Diana R Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2018; 30:26-32.

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