3D Simulation of Air-Structure Interaction in Dragonfly Hindwings
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Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs), known for their small size, lightweight design, and impressive manoeuvrability, represent an emerging area in aerospace engineering. These compact aerial platforms have attracted considerable interest for their possible uses in various fields, such as surveillance, reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and disaster response. In this context, dragonflies are the main source of inspiration for their design and manufacturing, as their complex wing structure is capable of high-performance aerodynamic manoeuvres and resistance to harsh atmospheric conditions. In the present investigation, we study the fluid-structure interaction phenomena between the dragonfly’s hindwing and the surrounding air through finite element simulations. We adopted a partitioned FSI approach with an accelerated Gauss-Seidel coupling scheme. The solid model for the hindwing is developed using thin membrane elements complemented with beam elements for veins, divided into primary and secondary levels according to thickness. Moreover, we choose a linear elastic constitutive law [1] for the solid subdomain with density ρ = 1200 kg/m3, (E, ν) = (3.75 GPa, 0.49) for membranes and (E, ν) = (6.00 GPa, 0.49) for veins. Regarding the fluid solver [2], an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian incompressible Navier Stokes equation is adopted, endowed with a SUPG stabilisation to tackle high Reynold numbers [3]. To overcome possible mesh distortion, an innovative reconnection algorithm has been developed. Several numerical simulations over the wing span are performed. Preliminary results show the aerodynamic forces exerted on the wing’s surface during a periodic flapping dynamic, highlighting the potential of the proposed formulation. REFERENCES [1] S.R. Jongerius and D. Lentink, Structural analysis of a dragonfly wing. Experimental Mechanics, Vol. 50, pp. 1323-1334, 2010. [2] D. Di Cristofaro, A. Opreni, M. Cremonesi, R. Carminati and A. Frangi, An Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian Approach for Estimating Energy Dissipation in Micromirrors. Actuators, Vol. 11, p. 298, 2022. [3] T.E. Tezduyar and S. Sathe, Modelling of fluid–structure interactions with the space–time finite elements: Solution techniques. Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids, Vol. 54, pp. 855-900, 2007.