A Numerical Study on Free Hovering Fruit-Fly with Flexible Wings

Insect flyers have drawn the attention of many biologists, mechanists and engineers due to their unparalleled manoeuvrability. In this article, we introduce a comprehensive FSI model to investigate a model fruit-fly with flexible wings. We then apply the model in the numerical study of the interaction between aerodynamic and structural processes in free hovering flight. The model fruit-fly is allowed to fly with six-degrees of freedom (6-DoF) and hovers steadily with active wing kinematic control. The present study provides a convenient approach to track the dynamic deformation of flexible wings and the instantaneous aerodynamic forces and power in free flight. The results of hovering flight simulations show that the flexibility of insect wing allows the wing to bend and passively adapt to the detaching direction of leading-edge vortices (LEVs), which helps to enhance lift force and reduce the aerodynamic power consumption in free flight.