Insights on the potential of vibratory actuation mechanism for enhanced performance of flapping-wing drones

Throneberry, Glen; Hassanalian, Mostafa; Hocut, C. M.; Abdelkefi, Abdessattar

doi:10.1007/s11012-021-01373-9

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 38 publications

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“…It follows that biomimetic MAVs attempting to replicate biological stroke kinematics and biological thoracic resonance may be well-suited to similar strain-hardening nonlinearities. Cubic-type nonlinear elasticities have already been considered for use in FW-MAVs [102],…”

Section: Inertial Loads Imply Strain-hardening Motor Elasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the thoracic inverse problem in the fruit fly

et al. 2023

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In many insect species, the thoracic exoskeletal structure plays a crucial role in enabling flight. In the dipteran indirect flight mechanism, thoracic cuticle acts as a transmission link between the flight muscles and the wings, and is thought to act as an elastic modulator: improving flight motor efficiency thorough linear or nonlinear resonance. But peering closely into the drivetrain of tiny insects is experimentally difficult, and the nature of this elastic modulation is unclear. Here, we present a new inverse-problem methodology to surmount this difficulty. In a data synthesis process, we integrate literature-reported rigid-wing aerodynamic and musculoskeletal data into a planar oscillator model for the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and use this integrated data to identify several surprising properties of the fly's thorax. We find that fruit flies likely have an energetic need for motor resonance: absolute power savings due to motor elasticity range from 0-30% across literature-reported datasets, averaging 16%. However, in all cases, the intrinsic high effective stiffness of the active asynchronous flight muscles accounts for all elastic energy storage required by the wingbeat. The D. melanogaster flight motor should be considered as a system in which the wings are resonant with the elastic effects of the motor’s asynchronous musculature, and not with the elastic effects of the thoracic exoskeleton. We discover also that D. melanogaster wingbeat kinematics show subtle adaptions that ensure that wingbeat load requirements match muscular forcing. Together, these newly-identified properties suggest a novel conceptual model of the fruit fly's flight motor: a structure that is resonant due to muscular elasticity, and is thereby intensely concerned with ensuring that the primary flight muscles are operating efficiently. Our inverse-problem methodology sheds new light on the complex behaviour of these tiny flight motors, and provides avenues for further studies in a range of other insect species.

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Section: Inertial Loads Imply Strain-hardening Motor Elasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the thoracic inverse problem in the fruit fly

et al. 2023

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Kinematics characteristics of unsprung mass in a double wishbone suspension based on velocity transformation

Duan,

Wu,

Zhang

2024

Acta Mech. Sin.

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Research of the creation and development of unmanned aerial vehicles

et al. 2023

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Drones were created back in the USSR. Many believe that UAVs - unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones, appeared only at the beginning of the 21st century. However, this is not the case: since the 60s of the last centuries, Soviet and American engineers have been building supersonic unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for the armies of their countries. In addition, drones are actively used for environmental purposes. They are called "eco-drones". They are no different from ordinary ones, the prefix is designed to emphasize their purely peaceful, scientific purpose.

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Insights on the potential of vibratory actuation mechanism for enhanced performance of flapping-wing drones

Cited by 5 publications

References 38 publications

Solving the thoracic inverse problem in the fruit fly

Solving the thoracic inverse problem in the fruit fly

Kinematics characteristics of unsprung mass in a double wishbone suspension based on velocity transformation

Research of the creation and development of unmanned aerial vehicles

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