Experiments on Fly Wing Structure for Biomimetic Robotic Flying Insect Design

摘要

Experiments are performed to determine the mass and stiffness variations along the wing of the blowfly Calliphora . The results are obtained for both pair of wings of 10 male flies and fresh wings were used. The wing is divided into nine locations along the span and seven locations along the chord based on venation patterns. The length and mass of the sections is measured and the mass per unit length is calculated. The mass is higher near the root of the wing and towards the leading edge of the wing section. The bending stiffness measurements are taken at the basal (near root), medial and distal (near tip) regions of the fly wing. A sharp decrease in stiffness from the root to the tip of the wing is observed. Torsion stiffness measurements are also made and the elastic axis of the wing is approximately located. The results provide guidelines for the biomimetic structural design of insect-scale flapping wings.