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The effects of wing inertial forces on flight stability of hovering insects with varying stroke plane

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Abstract

This paper discusses the effects of wing inertial forces on flight stability and required lift for hovering of insects with a varying stroke plane. In this paper, the stroke plane of a flying insect is called varying if the angle between the stroke plane and insect’s body remains constant during flight. Using a quasi-steady aerodynamic model and averaging techniques, while including the wing inertial forces in flight dynamics, the analytical results show that for an insect with a varying stroke plane the wing inertial forces have destabilizing effects on the insect’s translational motion during hover. Besides, the results suggest that an insect with a varying stroke plane requires less aerodynamic lift than its weight and a nonzero-mean drag for a stable hovering flight. Numerical simulations support the analytical results. To realize the mechanics behind the destabilizing effects of the wing inertial forces of an insect with a varying stroke plane and explain the properties of the lift and drag required for a stable hover, first, the vibrational control of a three degree of freedom force-input pendulum with a varying force direction is discussed.

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  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Sevak Tahmasian

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Tahmasian, S. The effects of wing inertial forces on flight stability of hovering insects with varying stroke plane. Nonlinear Dyn 112, 317–330 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-023-09053-x

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