Bat Flight inspires the new generation of wing design

Bats have inspired the design of flying vehicles for over a century. Now, the new computer modeling of bat wings and their flight diagrams will help inspire the next generation of wing design.

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Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the National University of Singapore have developed a comprehensive 3D computer model of bat-wing flapping that could help drone designers and from aircraft to create more agile vehicles.

The model gives an unprecedented insight into the batting mechanisms of bats' wings. This information could be the key to a new era of aviation design. The high fidelity model is scalable and can be used by designers and engineers.

The wings of bats bend and adapt to weather conditions

"Bats can navigate in confined spaces and cope with wind gusts with apparent ease," says Rajeev Jaiman, lead author of the study and professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Laos. British Columbia.

"By understanding how they do what they do, we may be able to design flying devices that work more efficiently than before, including in emergency and military situations."

Wing flapping designs have proven difficult to control for humans, but they have many advantages of fixed wing flight. The wing beats are quieter and offer greater maneuverability, but have proved difficult to translate into machines on a human scale.

The model heralds a new era in flight design

Bats, in particular, have an incredible ability of adaptation and efficiency thanks to membrane wings that are much more dynamic than other wings such as those found on insects or birds.

The sophisticated model shows in detail how bat wings rotate and turn as they fly, reacting to the airflow and creating lift, thrust and other forces associated with theft. .

Previous models of bat wings had been oversimplified or incomplete to constitute a real resource for engineers and designers. "Bat wings are elastic structures made up of many different parts that interact with air in extremely variable and aerodynamically complex ways," says Jaiman.

Next step: IA and application

"Our framework reflects the main flight dynamics and could be used as a tool for the design and optimization of flutter beats in air vehicles."

Although flight patterns of insects and birds have been studied in the past, they offer a less robust platform for artificial flight. The wings of the insects tend to be limited by their wingspan whereas the hollow of the bird bones presents challenges for the current aeronautical aviation.

The researcher's study was published in Computers & Fluids,