Computation and Modeling of Insect Flight

研究人员Wang0075510和她的同事们将现代计算技术和理论建模相结合，以补充现有的昆虫飞行实验研究。这些计算揭示了模拟昆虫拍打运动的弹性翅膀周围的三维流动。计算结果也为建立非定常流动中旋涡脱落的数学模型(传统上用非定常库塔条件描述)奠定了基础。流体力学中这个长期存在的问题的解决将有助于为扑翼飞行的一般理论奠定基础。昆虫飞行本身就很吸引人，但更重要的是，它可以提供对其他流体力学问题的洞察，这些问题涉及动态边界和高度不稳定的粘性流动之间的相互作用。这位研究人员探索了大自然如何解决昆虫飞行的问题。从昆虫飞行中学到的教训也适用于其他物理和工程系统，在这些系统中，旋涡尾迹和产生它的振荡体之间存在紧密耦合。从著名的毁灭性的塔科马窄桥事故到我们日常体验的一张落下的纸的动力学和液体中气泡的上升，例子不一而足。最后，了解昆虫飞行的空气动力学可以为设计微型飞行器提供一个新的范例。

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.