The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is known for its extremely high speeds during hunting dives or stoop. Here we demonstrate that the superior manoeuvrability of peregrine falcons during stoop is attributed to vortex-dominated flow promoted by their morphology, in the M-shape configuration adopted towards the end of dive. Both experiments and simulations on life-size models, derived from field observations, revealed the presence of vortices emanating from the frontal and dorsal region due to a strong spanwise flow promoted by the forward sweep of the radiale. These vortices enhance mixing for flow reattachment towards the tail. The stronger wing and tail vortices provide extra aerodynamic forces through vortex-induced lift for pitch and roll control. A vortex pair with a sense of rotation opposite to that from conventional planar wings interacts with the main wings vortex to reduce induced drag, which would otherwise decelerate the bird significantly during pull-out. These findings could help in improving aircraft performance and wing suits for human flights.

The aeroacoustics of a NACA 0012 aerofoil with an array of self-oscillating flexible flaplets attached on the trailing edge has been investigated at low to moderate chord based Reynolds number (50,000 -350,000) and at geometric angles of attack from α g = 0 • -20 • . When the aerofoil is untripped, tonal peaks are observed on the baseline aerofoil. When the passive flaplets are attached to the pressure side of the aerofoil, the tonal peak is removed. If the flaplets are then placed on the suction side, the tonal peak is reduced, but not removed. It is therefore hypothesised that the flaplets on the pressure side modifies the laminar separation bubble situated on the pressure side of the aerofoil, a key mechanism for tonal noise. Throughout all cases, both tripped and untripped, a low frequency (0.1 kHz -0.6 kHz) noise reduction and a slight increase at higher frequencies (>2 kHz) is seen. This gives an average overall sound pressure level (OSPL) reduction of 1.5 -2 dB for the flaplets affixed to the pressure side. The cases where the tonal noise component is removed an OSPL reduction of up to 20 dB can be seen.

This is the published version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link AbstractThe flow around a symmetric aerofoil (NACA 0012) with an array of flexible flaplets attached to the trailing edge has been investigated at Reynolds numbers of 100,000-150,000 using high-speed time-resolved particle image velocimetry (HS TR-PIV) and motion tracking of the flaplets' tips. Particular attention has been made on the upstream effect on the boundary layer evolution along the suction side of the wing, at angles of attack of 0 • and 10• . For the plain aerofoil, without flaplets, the boundary layer on the second half of the aerofoil shows the formation of rollers as the shear-layer rolls-up in the fundamental instability mode (linear state). Proper orthogonal decomposition analysis shows that non-linear modes are also present, the most dominant being the pairing of successive rollers. When the flaplets are attached, it is shown that the flow-induced oscillations of the flaplets are able to create a lock-in effect that stabilises the linear state of the shear layer, whilst delaying or damping the growth of non-linear modes. It is hypothesised that the modified trailing edge is beneficial for reducing drag and can reduce aeroacoustic noise production in the lower frequency band, as indicated by an initial acoustic investigation. List of symbols

This work describes a novel mechanism of laminar flow control of straight and backward swept wings with a comb-like leading edge device. It is inspired by the leading-edge comb on owl feathers and the special design of its barbs, resembling a cascade of complex 3D-curved thin finlets. The details of the geometry of the barbs from an owl feather were used to design a generic model of the comb for experimental and numerical flow studies with the comb attached to the leading edge of a flat plate. Due to the owls demonstrating a backward sweep of the wing during gliding and flapping from live recordings, our examinations have also been carried out at differing sweep angles. The results demonstrate a flow turning effect in the boundary layer inboards, which extends downstream in the chordwise direction over distances of multiples of the barb lengths. The inboard flow-turning effect described here, counteracts the outboard directed cross-span flow typically appearing for backward swept wings. This flow turning behavior is also shown on SD7003 airfoil using precursory LES investigations. From recent theoretical studies on a swept wing, such a way of turning the flow in the boundary layer is known to attenuate crossflow instabilities and delay transition. A comparison of the comb-induced cross-span velocity profiles with those proven to delay laminar to turbulent transition in theory shows excellent agreement, which supports the laminar flow control hypothesis. Thus, the observed effect is expected to delay transition in owl flight, contributing to a more silent flight.

During the pull-out maneuver, Peregrine falcons were observed to adopt a succession of specific flight configurations which are thought to offer an aerodynamic advantage over aerial prey. Analysis of the flight trajectory of a falcon in a controlled environment shows it experiencing load factors up to 3 and further predictions suggest this could be increased up to almost 10g during high-speed pull-out. This can be attributed to the high maneuverability promoted by lift-generating vortical structures over the wing. Wind-tunnel experiments on life-sized models in the different configurations together with high fidelity CFD Simulations (LES) show that deploying the hand-wing in a pull-out creates extra vortex-lift, similar to that of combat aircraft with delta wings. The aerodynamic forces and the position of aerodynamic center were calculated from the Simulations of the flow around the different configurations. This allowed for an analysis of the longitudinal static stability in the early pull-out phase, confirming that the falcon is flying unstably in pitch with a positive slope in the pitching moment and a trim angle of attack of about 5 • , possibly to maximize responsiveness. The hand-wings/primaries were seen to contribute to the augmented stability acting as 'elevons' would on a tailless blended-wing-body aircraft.