#insectflight — Public Fediverse posts

📢 New post! Aerodynamic consequences of wing damage in dragonfly flapping flight https://blog.espci.fr/ramiro/aerodynamic-consequences-of-wing-damage-in-dragonfly-flapping-flight/ #Publications #Research #Aerodynamics #Flapping #Fluidstructureinteraction #Insectflight

Gliding Like a Grasshopper

Many biorobots are built after flies and bees–insects that rely heavily on flapping flight. For small robots, this means carrying heavy batteries or remaining tethered in order to power their motors. Instead, researchers have turned to grasshoppers for a lesson in small-scale gliding.

Grasshoppers have two sets of wings. The forward set provide protection and camouflage, while the hindwings are used to fly. The team studied the corrugated, foldable hindwings of the American grasshopper, then 3D-printed model wing designs and attached them to gliders. They found that the corrugated wings performed well at low angles of attack, but that non-corrugated wings–which still shared the outline and camber of the insect’s wings–were more efficient gliders over a range of conditions.

The team hopes that their grasshopper-inspired gliders give insect-like biorobots more efficient flying options. (Image credit: Princeton/S. Khan/Fotobuddy; research credit: K. Lee et al.; via Physics World)