Dynamic experimental rigs for investigation of insect wing aerodynamics

Abstract

This paper provides a systematic and critical review of dynamic experimental rigs used for insect wing aerodynamics research. The goal is to facilitate meaningful comparison of data from existing rigs and provide insights for designers of new rigs. The scope extends from simple one degree of freedom rotary rigs to multi degrees of freedom rigs allowing various rotation and translation motions. Experimental methods are characterized using a consistent set of parameters that allows objective comparison of different approaches. A comprehensive catalogue is presented for the tested flow conditions (assessed through Reynolds number, Rossby number and advance ratio), wing morphologies (assessed through aspect ratio, planform shape and thickness to mean chord ratio) and kinematics (assessed through motion degrees of freedom). Links are made between the type of aerodynamic characteristics being studied and the type of experimental set-up used. Rig mechanical design considerations are assessed, and the aerodynamic measurements obtained from these rigs are discussed.

A simple model of wake capture aerodynamics

“…As such, the current model will not properly capture such wake capture effects of high aspect ratio wings. That said, it is known that most insect wing aspect ratios are clustered around 3–4 [ 25 , 40 , 41 ], for which the current model is expected to be fit for purpose. More importantly, hopefully this brief discussion has shed some light on the need for more future experimental and numerical studies to investigate the wake capture aerodynamics over a wide range of aspect ratios to enable a deeper understanding of the exact role that aspect ratio plays within wake capture aerodynamics.…”

Capturing wake capture: a 2D numerical investigation into wing–wake interaction aerodynamics

“…It was shown in Winslow et al [38] that lift and drag characteristics of flat plate at low Reynolds number improve with reduced thickness-to-chord ratio, t/c. Here, we set t/c to 3% as a representative value that is similar to values employed in other studies [39][40][41]. The flat plate kinematics employed consists of a rectilinear translation followed by pitching at the end of the stroke, figure 1(a).…”