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Effect of body angle on the aerodynamics of a rhinoceros beetle: Smoke-wire visualization in a wind tunnel

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Abstract

In the present study, flow structure around a live rhinoceros beetle in a tethered flight is investigated experimentally using a smoke-wire visualization technique in a wind tunnel with a free-stream velocity of 1.2 m/s, which is close to that of a typical flight speed. While varying the body angle (from 5 to 85°), the flow structures generated by the hindwings, elytra, and body are visualized along the spanwise direction. During the flapping period, the complex flow structures comprised leading-edge, trailing-edge, and tip vortices generated on the hindwing, but the flow structure is quite simple on the elytra (attached flow) and body (separated flow). As the body angle increases, these vortices convect in the downward direction, which matches the observation that the body angle of a hovering flight is larger than that of a forward flight. When the body angle matches the condition of forward flight, it is also found that the Strouhal number of a flapping hindwing is tuned to 0.4, which is known as an optimal value for thrust efficiency. Further, the effect of free-stream velocity (i.e., advance ratio) on the formation and evolution of these coherent vortical structures are investigated.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant to Bio-Mimetic Robot Research Center funded by Defense Acquisition Program Administration and by Agency for Defense Development (UD160027ID), and also by the NRF research program (2017R1A4A1015523) of the MSIT, Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Boogeon Lee, Sehyeong Oh, Haecheon Choi & Hyungmin Park

  2. Institute of Advanced Machines and Design, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Haecheon Choi & Hyungmin Park

Authors
  1. Boogeon Lee
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  2. Sehyeong Oh
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  3. Haecheon Choi
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  4. Hyungmin Park
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyungmin Park.

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Recommended by Editor Yang Na

Boogeon Lee received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, in 2014. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. with the Multiphase Flow & Flow Visualization Laboratory, Department of the Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. His research interests include insect flight, and fluid-structure interaction.

Sehyeong Oh obtained his B.S. degree at in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Seoul National University in 2014. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. at Turbulence, Flow Control & CFD Laboratory, Department of the Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. His research interests include insect flight, aerodynamics, bio-mimetic engineering, and CFD.

Haecheon Choi obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University in 1985 and 1987, respect-tively. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1992. Dr. Choi is currently a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University. His research interests include turbulence, flow control, CFD, and bio-mimetic engineering.

Hyungmin Park obtained his B.S. degree and Ph.D. at the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Korea, in 2000 and 2010, respectively. Dr. Park is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University. His research interests include multiphase flow, flow control with wettability-controlled surfaces, and fluid-structure interaction.

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Lee, B., Oh, S., Choi, H. et al. Effect of body angle on the aerodynamics of a rhinoceros beetle: Smoke-wire visualization in a wind tunnel. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 209–218 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-1222-0

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