Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2025

Experimental Investigation of the Flow Structure over a Delta Wing Via Flow Visualization Methods
Published on: April 23, 2018
Numerical Analysis of the Aerodynamic Interactions in Tandem Flying Snake Airfoils
Yuchen Gong1, Jiacheng Guo1, Alexander He2
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
Abstract:
During gliding, flying snakes flatten their ribs to create an airfoil-like cross-section and adopt S-shape postures, allowing upstream body segments to generate wake structures that affect the aerodynamic performance of downstream segments. This study investigates these interactions using numerical simulations of two-dimensional snake cross-sectional airfoils. By employing an immersed-boundary-method-based incompressible flow solver with tree topological local mesh refinement, various foil positions and movements were analyzed. The results show that aligning the downstream foil with the upstream foil reduces lift production by 86.5% and drag by 96.3%, leading to a 3.77-fold increase in the lift-to-drag ratio compared to a single airfoil. This improvement is attributed to the vortex-wedge interaction between the upstream vortex and the following foil's leading edge (wedge), which enhances the gliding efficiency of the posterior body. Furthermore, integrating specific pitching motions with coordinated vortex shedding could further optimize its lift production. These findings provide valuable insights into the aerodynamics of tandem flying snake airfoils, offering guidance for configuring optimal body postures for improving gliding efficiency.
Related Concept Videos
Lift
Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number
Determination of Pi Terms
The theorem indicates that...
Thin-Walled Hollow Shafts
Bernoulli's Equation for Flow Normal to a Streamline
The pressure difference depends on the fluid's velocity and radius of curvature. The pressure variation is minimal in flows with nearly straight streamlines.
General External Flow Characteristics

