Rhythmic Movement of Dragonfly Wing Model.

Structural Analysis of a Dragonfly Wing

Dragonfly wings are highly corrugated, which increases the stiffness and strength of the wing significantly, and results in a lightweight structure with good aerodynamic performance. How insect wings carry aerodynamic and inertial loads, and how the resonant frequency of the flapping wings is tuned for carrying these loads, is however not fully understood. To study this we made a three-dimensio...

Aerodynamic characteristics of dragonfly wing sections compared with technical aerofoils.

During gliding, dragonfly wings can be interpreted as acting as ultra-light aerofoils which, for static reasons, have a well-defined cross-sectional corrugation. This corrugation forms profile valleys in which rotating vortices develop. The cross-sectional configuration varies greatly along the longitudinal axis of the wing. This produces different local aerodynamic characteristics. Analyses of...

Optimisation of a Dragonfly-Inspired Flapping Wing-Actuation System

An optimisation method using both global and local optimisation is implemented to determine the flapping profile which will produce the most lift for an experimental wing-actuation system. The optimisation method is tested using a numerical quasi-steady analysis. Results of an optimised flapping profile show a 20% increase in lift generated as compared to flapping profiles obtained by high spee...

Dynamics of animal movement in an ecological context: dragonfly wing damage reduces flight performance and predation success.

Much of our understanding of the control and dynamics of animal movement derives from controlled laboratory experiments. While many aspects of animal movement can be probed only in these settings, a more complete understanding of animal locomotion may be gained by linking experiments on relatively simple motions in the laboratory to studies of more complex behaviours in natural settings. To dem...

Anal valve movement and normal ventilation in aeshnid dragonfly larvae.