EAGER/Collaborative Research: Revealing the Physical Mechanisms Underlying the Extraordinary Stability of Flying Insects

EARLY概念探索性研究（EAGER）项目研究某些昆虫如何在飞行过程中耐受大的干扰，而不会失控。一个自由飞行的天蛾的高速图像显示，这种昆虫在被冲动地加速到每秒5,000度的旋转速度后，只需要几次翅膀拍打就可以恢复正常飞行。计算机模拟表明，这种快速恢复可能是由于飞蛾身体突然运动而产生的空气中类似弹簧的力。这些力量以前并不被认为是重要的天蛾飞行。该项目将使用数学分析和高保真计算机模拟来充分探索和解释这一惊人的结果。从这项工作中获得的知识将有助于保护未来的飞机;观察到的行为超出了当前飞行控制技术的能力。 初步分析表明，身体增加的质量效应在观察到的天蛾从脉冲加速恢复到高俯仰率的能力中起着核心作用。本研究将应用理论和计算方法相结合，以了解身体飞行动力学和非定常流之间的相互作用，在时间尺度上显着快于翼拍周期。具体的任务包括：（i）身体附加质量效应的动态分析，并与现有的昆虫飞行扰动响应数据进行比较;（ii）附加质量效应的高保真计算流体动力学模拟;以及（iii）存在涡流时附加质量效应的分析。该研究将包括在未来无人驾驶飞行器上实施新理解的高回收率机制的方法的开发。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) project investigates how certain insects may tolerate large disturbances during flight, without tumbling out of control. High-speed images of a free-flying hawkmoth showed the insect -- after being impulsively accelerated to a spin rate of 5,000 degrees per second -- returning to normal flight in only a few wing beats. Computer simulations suggest that this rapid recovery may be due to a spring-like force from the air displaced by the sudden motion of the moth’s body. These forces were not previously thought to be important in hawkmoth flight. This project will use mathematical analyses and high-fidelity computer simulations to fully explore and explain this surprising result. The knowledge gained from this work will help safeguard future aircraft; the observed behavior is beyond the capability of current flight control technology. Preliminary analysis suggests that the body-added mass effect plays a central role in the observed ability of the hawkmoth to recover from impulsive acceleration to high pitch rates. This study will apply a combination of theoretical and computational methods to understand the interplay between body flight dynamics and unsteady flow, at timescales significantly faster than the wing beat period. Specific tasks include (i) dynamic analysis of body added mass effects and comparison to existing insect flight disturbance response data; (ii) high-fidelity computational fluid dynamic simulations of added mass effects, and (iii) analysis of added mass effects in the presence of vortical flow. The study will include development of approaches to implement the newly understood high-rate recovery mechanisms on future unpiloted aerial vehicles.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.