Coupled Dynamics Between Flapping Wings and Vibrating Thorax During Insect Flight

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Insect flight has motivated many research studies in the biology and engineering communities. For biologists, such studies provide critical insights into sensory/motor coordination in animals. For engineers, such studies have potential applications to autonomous micro-aerial vehicles. The objective of this research is to develop a simulation model of insect flight that incorporates the major contributing components of the insect anatomy, as well as accommodating realistically large wing rotations. This significant advance in the analysis and modeling of insect flight will be possible only through an integrated interdisciplinary effort by engineers and biologists. Many attempts have been made to understand the structural dynamics of insect flight, however the results are far from complete. For example, most previous flight research isolates the wing dynamics, and ignores the supporting anatomy that real insects need to generate and transmit wing forces. Previous studies of insect muscle and exoskeleton consider only very small movements. However it is almost certain that extrapolation of very small movements is insufficient to capture the large wing rotations and muscle and thorax contractions of a real flying insect. The results of this project could enable future autonomous machines of great benefit to society, such as micro-aerial vehicles for disaster relief. This project will advance the state of the art in insect flight modeling by three major research tasks. The first task is to model large 3-dimensional rotations of the wings. This will be done using finite element analyses of a static wing followed by a correction for 3-dimensional rotation effects, such as Coriolis coupling. The second task is reduced-order modeling at the system level, by conducting component-mode synthesis from the wing and thorax. The third task is to validate the models by conducting calibrated experiments using an artificial wing in a vacuum chamber. This research is transformative and translational. It transforms the research area of insect flight/structural dynamics by injecting novel ideas, such as system-level modeling, capability to incorporate 3-dimensional finite rotation, and reduced-order modeling to abstract sensori-motor coordination. It will also allow understanding of how muscle activation affects flying conditions and strain receptors in the wing and vice versa. The knowledge gained from insect flight/structural dynamics can be transferred directly to micro-aerial vehicle applications.