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Wing extension-flexion coupled aeroelastic effects improve avian gliding performance.

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Bird wing morphing changes stiffness, enhancing flight. Increased stiffness in folded wings improves lift and delays flow separation, optimizing aerodynamics at different speeds.

Keywords:
aerodynamicsbirdsfeathersfluid–structure interactionwing morphing

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Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Aerodynamics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Birds exhibit significant wing shape changes during flight, known as wing morphing.
  • Wing morphing influences aerodynamic force production, but its effect on wing stiffness is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how wing stiffness changes with wing morphing in birds.
  • To determine the aerodynamic consequences of morphing-coupled stiffness changes.

Main Methods:

  • Mechanical testing of in situ flight feathers in pigeons.
  • Computational fluid-structure interaction simulations.

Main Results:

  • Proximal wing areas increase in out-of-plane stiffness when wings are folded.
  • Flexible wings generally outperform rigid wings by delaying flow separation.
  • Increased stiffness in folded wings at high speeds prevents lift reduction caused by flutter.

Conclusions:

  • Wing stiffness changes dynamically with wing morphing.
  • These stiffness variations provide a speed-dependent mechanism for enhancing flight performance.
  • The findings offer insights into the evolution of avian flight.