Experimental Structural Dynamic Characterization of the Hawkmoth (ManducaSexta) Forewing
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2013
Abstract
While many bio-inspired flapping wing micro air vehicle wing designs continue to be conceived and studied in earnest, a general consensus of which physical attributes of the biological entity are important for flight is still at-large. It is proposed herein that the eigenstructure of the wing should figure prominently among rigorous engineering metrics for guiding flapping wing micro air vehicle wing designs at the scales of large insects. With virtually no compelling work done in this area to date, the method and results of system identification tests for the forewings of a representative sample of hawkmoth (Manduca Sexta) are presented, revealing the underlying structural nature of this incredibly agile flyer's wings. Despite their inherent biological variability, these wings show very little variability in eigenstructure which may suggest it as a critical attribute for robust flight. Further supporting this hypothesis, the wings of four other insect species are briefly examined and show remarkable similarity with the hawkmoth wing's eigenstructure.
DOI
10.1260/1756-8293.5.1.39
Source Publication
International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles
Recommended Citation
Norris, A. G., Palazotto, A. N., & Cobb, R. G. (2013). Experimental structural dynamic characterization of the hawkmoth (manduca sexta) forewing. International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, 5(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1260/1756-8293.5.1.39
Comments
The "Link to Full Text" on this page loads the open access article hosted at Sage Publications.
The article appears in International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, a Sage Gold Open Access journal.