Abstract
Dragonflies are fast and manoeuvrable fliers and this ability is reflected in their unique wing morphology. Due to the specific lightweight structure, with the crossing veins joined by rubber-like resilin patches, wings possess strong deformability but can resist high forces and large deformations during aerial collisions. The computational results demonstrate the strong influence of resilin-containing vein joints on the stress distribution within the wing. The presence of flexible resilin in the contact region of the veins prevents excessive bending of the cross veins and significantly reduces the stress concentration in the joint.
Highlights
Dragonflies are fast and manoeuvrable fliers and this ability is reflected in their unique wing morphology
Recent investigations by means of different microscopy techniques have confirmed the occurrence of the resilin in the vein joints of numerous dragonflies[7,8,9,10] and other insect species[11,12]
In the general case, they all consist of three main components: (i) two veins which directly or indirectly connected to each other, (ii) a resilin patch which is located in the interval between the veins when they are not in direct contact, and (iii) a spike on one side or two spikes on both sides of one of the veins
Summary
Model 2 was used to investigate the effect of the removal of the soft endocuticle and the resilin on the mechanical behaviour of the joint The force was applied to both dorsal and ventral sides of the cross vein (Fig. 2A,B) This loading condition enabled us to assess the effect of the soft cuticle and the resilin patch on the deformability of the joint under external forces applied in flight. In order to analyse the influence of the mentioned structural elements on the mechanical behaviour of the joint in contact with an obstacle, we applied the same external displacement to the models This displacement was applied to the ventral side of the cross vein at its free end (Fig. 2D,E).
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