Gliding flight is a relatively inexpensive mode of flight used by many larger bird species, where potential energy is used to cover the cost of aerodynamic drag. Birds have great flexibility in their flight configuration, allowing them to control their flight speed and glide angle. However, relatively little is known about how this flexibility affects aerodynamic drag. We measured the wake of a...

Abstract In this era of fast-depleting natural resources, the hike in fuel prices is ever-growing. With stringent norms over environmental policies, automotive manufacturers are on a voyage to produce efficient vehicles with lower emissions. High-speed cars at stake provide uncompromised performance but having strict rules emissions drives companies approach through different route keep demands...

The shape of the carapace protecting the body of boxfishes has been attributed an important hydrodynamic role in drag reduction and in providing automatic, flow-direction realignment and is therefore used in bioinspired design of cars. However, tight swimming-course stabilization is paradoxical given the frequent, high-performance manoeuvring that boxfishes display in their spatially complex, c...

Leading-edge vortices that form at offdesign conditions can profoundly influence the aerodynamic characteristics of highly swept slender wings. predict wing geometry effects on the progressive spanwise development of leading-edge vortices is presented. This method, which can account for sweep, camber, twist, airfoil shape, flap deflections, and planform shape, is shown to be a useful tool for a...