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PIV-based investigations of animal flight

Author

Summary, in English

An overview is presented of the principles of estimation of fluid forces exerted upon solid bodies, based upon whole-field velocity measurements such as provided by PIV. The focus will be on the range of length and velocity scales characterised by the flight of large insects, birds, bats and small unmanned air vehicles, so that while viscous terms in the Navier-Stokes equations can many times be ignored in the quantitative analysis, understanding and measuring boundary-layer flows, separation and instability will ultimately be critical to predicting and controlling the fluid motions. When properly applied, PIV methods can make accurate estimates of time-averaged and unsteady forces, although even ostensibly simple cases with uncomplicated geometries can prove challenging in detail. Most PIV-based force estimates are embedded in some analytical model of the fluid-structure interaction, and examples of these with varying degrees of complexity are given. In any event, the performance and accuracy of the PIV method in use must be well understood as part of both the overall uncertainty analysis and the initial experimental design.

Publishing year

2009

Language

English

Pages

749-763

Publication/Series

Experiments in Fluids

Volume

46

Issue

5

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Biological Sciences

Status

Published

Research group

  • Animal Flight Lab

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1432-1114