Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies

Abstract Flapping flight is one of the most costly forms of locomotion in animals. To limit energetic expenditures, flying insects thus developed multiple strategies. An effective mechanism to reduce flight power expenditures is the harvesting of kinetic energy from motion of the surrounding air. We...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Fritz-Olaf Lehmann, Hao Wang, Thomas Engels
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3d068ba91aaa4dff824a1291c89d384d
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:3d068ba91aaa4dff824a1291c89d384d
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3d068ba91aaa4dff824a1291c89d384d2021-12-02T16:36:12ZVortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies10.1038/s41598-021-86359-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/3d068ba91aaa4dff824a1291c89d384d2021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86359-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Flapping flight is one of the most costly forms of locomotion in animals. To limit energetic expenditures, flying insects thus developed multiple strategies. An effective mechanism to reduce flight power expenditures is the harvesting of kinetic energy from motion of the surrounding air. We here show an unusual mechanism of energy harvesting in an insect that recaptures the rotational energy of air vortices. The mechanism requires pronounced chordwise wing bending during which the wing surface momentary traps the vortex and transfers its kinetic energy to the wing within less than a millisecond. Numerical and robotic controls show that the decrease in vortex strength is minimal without the nearby wing surface. The measured energy recycling might slightly reduce the power requirements needed for body weight support in flight, lowering the flight costs in animals flying at elevated power demands. An increase in flight efficiency improves flight during aversive manoeuvring in response to predation and long-distance migration, and thus factors that determine the worldwide abundance and distribution of insect populations.Fritz-Olaf LehmannHao WangThomas EngelsNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Fritz-Olaf Lehmann Hao Wang Thomas Engels Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
description	Abstract Flapping flight is one of the most costly forms of locomotion in animals. To limit energetic expenditures, flying insects thus developed multiple strategies. An effective mechanism to reduce flight power expenditures is the harvesting of kinetic energy from motion of the surrounding air. We here show an unusual mechanism of energy harvesting in an insect that recaptures the rotational energy of air vortices. The mechanism requires pronounced chordwise wing bending during which the wing surface momentary traps the vortex and transfers its kinetic energy to the wing within less than a millisecond. Numerical and robotic controls show that the decrease in vortex strength is minimal without the nearby wing surface. The measured energy recycling might slightly reduce the power requirements needed for body weight support in flight, lowering the flight costs in animals flying at elevated power demands. An increase in flight efficiency improves flight during aversive manoeuvring in response to predation and long-distance migration, and thus factors that determine the worldwide abundance and distribution of insect populations.
format	article
author	Fritz-Olaf Lehmann Hao Wang Thomas Engels
author_facet	Fritz-Olaf Lehmann Hao Wang Thomas Engels
author_sort	Fritz-Olaf Lehmann
title	Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
title_short	Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
title_full	Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
title_fullStr	Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
title_full_unstemmed	Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
title_sort	vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/3d068ba91aaa4dff824a1291c89d384d
work_keys_str_mv	AT fritzolaflehmann vortextrappingrecapturesenergyinflyingfruitflies AT haowang vortextrappingrecapturesenergyinflyingfruitflies AT thomasengels vortextrappingrecapturesenergyinflyingfruitflies
_version_	1718383626117185536

Vortex trapping recaptures energy in flying fruit flies

Ejemplares similares