Bioinspiration of the vein structure of dragonfly wings on its flight characteristics

Abstract

Dragonflies have excellent flight characteristics, which are inextricably related to the characteristics of their wings. Their wings not only support a variety of loads during flight but also maintain high‐efficiency flight characteristics. In this study, the forewing of a dragonfly (Pantala flavescens (Fabricius)) was used as a research object to explore the microstructure of the surface, cross section, and the vein distribution. Three‐dimensional models of three different structures of the forewing vein, including an oval‐shaped hollow tube, a circular hollow tube, and a circular solid tube, were established. Fluid dynamics analysis of these three forewing models under different angles of attack during gliding was carried out by FLUENT software, and subsequently, the influence of the dragonfly forewing vein structure on its flight characteristics was analyzed. The numerical simulation results indicated that the vein structure has a considerable influence on the lift, drag, and lift–drag ratio of the P. flavescens forewing. It was indicated that among the tested models, the forewing model with oval‐shaped hollow tubular veins has better flight efficiency and aerodynamic characteristics. The results of this study may provide the basis for a novel bionic concept of flapping wing microaircraft design.

A study on the aerodynamic behaviors learned from microscopy imaging of beetle corrugated hindwing

“…Additionally, when transferring from hovering to forward flight, the effect of inertial deformation appeared to be greater than aeroelastic deformation with regard to the instantaneous wing shape (Bergou et al, 2007; Hussein et al, 2019). However, with regard to FWMAV design in comparison to insect functional morphology of flight, many things still have to be cleared up, such as stall at small angles of attack and the detrimental high wind resistance (Deng et al, 2019; Li et al, 2022; Lian et al, 2003; Liu et al, 2022). Beetles (Coleoptera) are a unique group of insects with deployable hindwings that can be folded under the elytra, which probably reduce wing damage when not flying (Sun et al, 2019).…”