Cote Braden, Casey Cailin, Jankauski Mark
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Montana State University, 201B Roberts Hall, Bozeman, Montana, 59715, UNITED STATES.
Montana State University Bozeman, 201B Roberts Hall, Bozeman, Montana, 59717-2000, UNITED STATES.
Bioinspir Biomim. 2024 Dec 19. doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/ada1ba.
Flying insects have a robust flight system that allows them to fly even when their forewings are damaged. The insect must adjust wingbeat kinematics to aerodynamically compensate for the loss of wing area. However, the mechanisms that allow insects with asynchronous flight muscle to adapt to wing damage are not well understood. Here, we investigated the phase and amplitude relationships between thorax deformation and flapping angle in tethered flying bumblebees subject to wing clipping and weighting. We used synchronized laser vibrometry and high-speed videography to measure thorax deformation and flapping angle, respectively. We found that changes in wing inertia did not affect thorax deformation amplitude but did influence wingbeat frequency. Increasing wing inertia increased flapping amplitude and caused a phase lag between thorax deformation and flapping angle, whereas decreasing wing inertia did not affect flapping amplitude and caused the flapping angle to lead thorax deformation. Based on our findings, we proposed a qualitative model of the insect flight system. This model suggests insects leverage a wing hinge-dominated vibration mode to fly, and highlights the possibility of a disproportionate damping between the wing hinge and thorax when the insect's wings are clipped. The results of our study provide insights into the robust design of insect-inspired flapping wing micro air vehicles.
飞行昆虫拥有强大的飞行系统，即使其前翅受损也能飞行。昆虫必须调整翅膀运动学，以通过空气动力学方式补偿翅膀面积的损失。然而，具有异步飞行肌肉的昆虫适应翅膀损伤的机制尚不清楚。在此，我们研究了在进行翅膀修剪和加重处理的系留飞行大黄蜂中，胸部变形与拍打角度之间的相位和幅度关系。我们分别使用同步激光振动测量法和高速摄像技术来测量胸部变形和拍打角度。我们发现，翅膀惯性的变化不影响胸部变形幅度，但会影响翅膀拍动频率。增加翅膀惯性会增加拍打幅度，并导致胸部变形与拍打角度之间出现相位滞后，而减小翅膀惯性则不影响拍打幅度，并使拍打角度领先于胸部变形。基于我们的研究结果，我们提出了一个昆虫飞行系统的定性模型。该模型表明昆虫利用以翅膀铰链为主导的振动模式飞行，并突出了昆虫翅膀被修剪时翅膀铰链与胸部之间存在不成比例阻尼的可能性。我们的研究结果为受昆虫启发的扑翼微型飞行器的稳健设计提供了见解。
