title: Effects of structural flexibility of wings in flapping flight of butterfly.
abstract: The objective of this paper is to clarify the effects of structural flexibility of wings of a butterfly in flapping flight. For this purpose, a dynamics model of a butterfly is derived by Lagrange's method, where the butterfly is considered as a rigid multi-body system. The panel method is employed to simulate the flow field and the aerodynamic forces acting on the wings. The mathematical model is validated by the agreement of the numerical result with the experimentally measured data. Then, periodic orbits of flapping-of-wings flights are parametrically searched in order to fly the butterfly models. Almost periodic orbits are found, but they are unstable. Deformation of the wings is modeled in two ways. One is bending and its effect on the aerodynamic forces is discussed. The other is passive wing torsion caused by structural flexibility. Numerical simulations demonstrate that flexible torsion reduces the flight instability.
authors.affiliation: Kyoto University, Yoshida-Honmachi, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. senda@kuaero.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Senda
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D002080:Butterflies / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000502:physiology*