title: Dragonfly flight: novel uses of unsteady separated flows.
abstract: Studies of insect flight have revealed novel mechanisms of production of aerodynamic lift. In the present study, large lift forces were measured during flight episodes elicited from dragonflies tethered to a force balance. Simultaneously, stroboscopic photographs provided stop-action views of wing motion and the flowfield structure surrounding the insect. Wing kinematics were correlated with both instantaneous lift generation and vortex-dominated flow fields. The large lift forces appear to be produced by unsteady flow-wing interactions. This successful utilization of unsteady separated flows by insects may signal the existence of a whole new class of fluid dynamic uses that remain to be explored.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Somps
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luttges