Dynamic behavior of the vortex ring formed on a butterfly wing

Abstract

Micro-air-vehicles (MAVs) and micro-flight robots that mimic the flight mechanisms of insects have attracted significant attention in recent years. A number of MAVs and micro-flight robots that use various devices have been reported. However, these robots were not practical. One of the reasons for this is that the flying mechanism of insects has not yet been clarified sufficiently. In particular, the dynamic behavior of the vortex formed on the insect wing and its growth process have not been clarified. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the dynamic behavior and the detailed structure of the vortices of the flapping butterfly wing. The authors conducted a particle image velocimetry measurement around the flapping butterfly wing of Cynthia cardui and Idea leuconoe and investigated the vortex structure of the wing and its dynamic behavior. A vortex ring is formed over the butterfly wings when the wings flap downward to the bottom dead position. The vortex ring then passes over the butterfly completely and grows until reaching the wake at the bottom dead position. The vortex ring is formed over the wings regardless of the type of butterfly, although the scale of the vortex ring varies with the butterfly type.