Wing-Body Interaction in Cicada Forward Flight
The effects of wing-body interaction (WBI) on aerodynamic performance and vortex dynamics have been numerically investigated in the forward flight of cicadas. Flapping wing kinematics was reconstructed based on the output of a high-speed camera system. Following the reconstruction of cicada flight, three models, wing-body (WB), body-only (BD), and wings-only (WN) were then developed and evaluated using our in-house flow solver. Results have shown that due to wing-body interactions, the WB model had a 18.7% increase in total lift production compared to the lift generated in both the BD and WN models, and about 65% of this enhancement was attributed to the body. Further analysis has shown that this lift enhancement was attributed to the formation of two distinct vortices shed from the thorax and the posterior of the insect, respectively, and their interactions with the flapping wings.
