Aerodynamic interaction of bristled wing pairs in fling

Abstract: Tiny flying insects of body lengths under 2 mm use the `clap-and-fling' mechanism with bristled wings for lift augmentation and drag reduction at chord-based Reynolds number ($Re$) on $\mathcal{O}$(10). We examine wing-wing interaction of bristled wings in fling at $Re$=10, as a function of initial inter-wing spacing ($\delta$) and degree of overlap between rotation and linear translation. A dynamically scaled robotic platform was used to drive physical models of bristled wing pairs with the following kinematics (all angles relative to vertical): 1) rotation about the trailing edge to angle $\theta_\text{r}$; 2) linear translation at a fixed angle ($\theta_\text{t}$); and 3) combined rotation and linear translation. The results show that: 1) cycle-averaged drag coefficient decreased with increasing $\theta_\text{r}$ and $\theta_\text{t}$; and 2) decreasing $\delta$ increased the lift coefficient owing to increased asymmetry in circulation of leading and trailing edge vortices. A new dimensionless index, reverse flow capacity (RFC), was used to quantify the maximum possible ability of a bristled wing to leak fluid through the bristles. Drag coefficients were larger for smaller $\delta$ and $\theta_\text{r}$ despite larger RFC, likely due to blockage of inter-bristle flow by shear layers around the bristles. Smaller $\delta$ during early rotation resulted in formation of strong positive pressure distribution between the wings, resulting in increased drag force. The positive pressure region weakened with increasing $\theta_\text{r}$, which in turn reduced drag force. Tiny insects have been reported to use large rotational angles in fling, and our findings suggest that a plausible reason is to reduce drag forces.