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A scaling law for the lift of hovering insects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2015

Jeongsu Lee ,
Haecheon Choi  and
Ho-Young Kim
Jeongsu Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Haecheon Choi
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Ho-Young Kim*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
*
†Email address for correspondence: hyk@snu.ac.uk
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Abstract

Insect hovering is one of the most fascinating acrobatic flight modes in nature, and its aerodynamics has been intensively studied, mainly through computational approaches. While the numerical analyses have revealed detailed vortical structures around flapping wings and resulting forces for specific hovering conditions, theoretical understanding of a simple unified mechanism enabling the insects to be airborne is still incomplete. Here, we construct a scaling law for the lift of hovering insects through relatively simple scaling arguments of the strength of the leading edge vortex and the momentum induced by the vortical structure. Comparison of our theory with the measurement data of 35 species of insects confirms that the scaling law captures the essential physics of lift generation of hovering insects. Our results offer a simple yet powerful guideline for biologists who seek the evolutionary direction of the shape and kinematics of insect wings, and for engineers who design flapping-based micro air vehicles.

JFM classification

Biological Fluid Dynamics: Biological Fluid Dynamics Biological Fluid Dynamics: Swimming/flying Vortex Flows: Vortex dynamics
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 782 , 10 November 2015 , pp. 479 - 490
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Copyright
© 2015 Cambridge University Press 

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