Abstract
An analysis is undertaken to provide a simple analytic expression to estimate the stroke averaged lift of a hovering insect based on geometric and kinematic data. The expression should prove useful in the conceptual design of biologically inspired microaerial vehicles. The study includes estimation of the average vortex lift developed. The leading-edge suction analogy in conjunction with actuator disk theory is invoked to establish the relationship between axial force on the wing and vortex lift. The expression allows decomposition of the total loading into its attached flow and vortex lift components. For the insects investigated the estimated vortex lift typically constituted 27‐50% of the attached flow lift and approximately 23‐34% of the total lift.
Published Version
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