Effects of Inertial Power and Inertial Force on Bat Wings

The inertial power and inertial force of wings are important factors in evaluating the flight performance of native bats. Based on measurement data of wing size and motions of Eptesicus fuscus, we present a new computational bat wing model with divided fragments of skeletons and membrane. The motions of the model were verified by comparing the joint and tip trajectories with native bats. The influences of flap, sweep, elbow, wrist and digits motions, the effects of different bones and membrane of bat wing, the components on vertical, spanwise and fore-aft directions of the inertial power and force were analyzed. Our results indicate that the flap, sweep, and elbow motions contribute the main inertial power and force; the membrane occupies an important proportion of the inertial power and force; inertial power on flap direction was larger, while variations of inertial forces on different directions were not evident. These methods and results offer insights into flight dynamics in other flying animals and may contribute to the design of future robotic bats.