CAREER: Performance of Skeleton-Reinforced Biomembranes in Locomotion

该奖项是根据《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。这个奖项将提高我们对嵌入骨骼的生物膜的理解，使用两个有代表性的例子：昆虫的翅膀和鱼翅。重点将是生物结构和运动性能之间的相关性，一个边界积分模型和一个沉浸边界模型的补充。鱼鳍和昆虫翅具有轻便、耐用、可展开、可操控等显著特点，为自主水下航行器(AUV)或微型飞行器(MAV)的推进系统提供了理想的模型。最近的生物学研究表明，鱼鳍和昆虫翅膀具有各向异性的柔韧性，它们的运动能力与这种柔韧性密切相关，但目前最先进的模型相对滞后。这项研究结合了流体动力学和基于形态逼真设计的结构响应。这项研究也将是一个框架的重要组成部分，以了解广泛的生物系统的结构和功能，这些生物系统在结构上类似于鱼的鳍和昆虫的翅膀(例如细胞膜或软体动物的珍珠)。为了追求这一目标，教育目标是通过开设这一方向的课程来吸引当前研究生和本科生的参与，并鼓励其他人参与这一跨学科的研究工作。其他活动包括参与各种计划(例如COSMOS计划)，以接触到K-12学生、服务不足的社区和以前被排除在外的群体。该协会还将通过一个专门的网站和一个由世界大学网络(WUN)推动的国际/跨学科研究网络传播研究结果，该网络的重点是鱼类游动和鱼类对水环境的适应。

0844857ZhuThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This award will improve our understanding of biomembranes reinforced by embedded skeletons using two representative examples: insect wing and fish fin. The focus will be the correlation between the bio-architecture and locomotion performance a boundary-integral model complemented by an immersed-boundary model. The remarkable characteristics of lightness, durability, deployability, and controllability of fish fins and insect wings may provide ideal models for propulsion systems of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) or micro aero-vehicles (MAV). Recent biological studies show that fish fins and insect wings are anisotropically flexible and their locomotion capacity is closely related to such flexibility, however, present state-of-the-art models lag behind. This study incorporates both the fluid dynamics and the structural responses based upon morphologically realistic designs. The research will also be a vital part of a framework to understand the structure vs. function of a broad range of biological systems which are structurally similar to fish fins and insect wings (e.g. cell membranes or mollusk nacres). In pursuit of this goal, the educational objectives are to enlist current graduate and undergraduate student participation by initiating a curriculum in this direction and to encourage other's participation in this interdisciplinary research effort. Other activities include participation in various programs (e.g., the COSMOS program) to reach out to K-12 students, underserved communities, and previously excluded groups. The PI will also disseminate the results through a dedicated website and an international/interdisciplinary research network facilitated by the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) focusing on fish swimming and adaptations of fish to hydraulic environments.