Taylor Baildon Comps Presentation
Wednesday, April 1st, 2015
3:10 pm
Olin 141
Flapping Wing Dynamics and Navigation Mechanisms Used in Bird and Insect Flight
Animal flight has fascinated humans for ages. While bird flight has historically been well understood by physicists, insect flight could not be explained by scientists until 1999. The mechanisms by which birds and insects generate lift and thrust are now understood, but scientists are still perplexed by the mechanisms these animals use to navigate complex migratory routes. This talk investigates two main aspects of biological flyers, namely birds and insects: (i) the kinematics and fluid dynamics of flapping wing flight, and (ii) the magnetoreceptive mechanisms that flapping wing flyers use to navigate. An overview of basic and complex fluid dynamics is provided, and several lift-generating mechanisms are discussed, including the clap-and-fling, mechanism, wake capture, rapid pitch rotation, and delayed stall of the leading edge vortex. The three main theories of animal magnetoreception are also described, although no consensus exists regarding which mechanism biological flyers use in navigation.