Computation and Modeling of Insect Flight

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Wang0075510 The investigator and her colleagues combine moderntechniques of computation and theoretical modeling to complementcurrent experimental research in insect flight. Thesecomputations reveal the three-dimensional flows around an elasticwing that mimics the flapping motion of insects. Thecomputational results also establish a basis for developingmathematical models of vortex shedding in unsteady flows(traditionally described by the unsteady Kutta condition). Asolution of this longstanding problem in fluid mechanics wouldhelp to lay the foundation for a general theory of flappingflight. Insect flight is fascinating in its own right, but moregenerally, it can provide insight into other fluid mechanicalproblems that involve interactions between dynamic boundaries andhighly unsteady viscous flows. The investigator explores howNature solves the problem of insect flight. The lessons learnedfrom insect flight are applicable to other physical andengineering systems where there is a tight coupling between avortex wake and the oscillating body that generated it. Examplesrange from the famous devastating Tacoma Narrows bridge accidentto our everyday experience of the dynamics of a piece of fallingpaper and the rising of bubbles in fluids. Finally, understandingthe aerodynamics of insect flight can provide a new paradigm indesigning micro-air vehicles.