MAZZOLA, A: Low Reynolds Number Aerodynamics

Low Reynolds number aerodynamics is characteristic of the flight of many natural and man-made flyers. With the advent of the micro air vehicles (MAVs), vehicles with a maximal dimension of 15 cm or less and a flight speed of 10 m/s, the aerospace engineering community started to conduct studies about the aerodynamic characteristics of the flight of birds, bats and insects. The primary focus of this book is a computational study of the aerodynamic characteristics of a dragonfly aerofoil. From past studies dragonfly wings, compared with a flat plate or a conventional smooth airfoil, highlighted better performance in term of lift and drag. The book considers the current research, conducted at the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, USA, and analyzes a corrugated airfoil in gliding flight at different Reynolds numbers and for various angles of attack in unsteady state simulations. A peculiar characteristic that comes from the results is a lift-enhancement derived from the unusual shape of the dragonfly airfoil.