Lift enhancement by bats' dynamically changing wingspan

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society interface Vol. 12; no. 113; p. 20150821
• Main Authors: Wang, Shizhao, Zhang, Xing, He, Guowei, Liu, Tianshu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 06.12.2015
• Subjects: Animals; Bat Flight; Chiroptera - anatomy & histology; Chiroptera - physiology; Dynamically Changing Wingspan; Flapping Flight; Flight, Animal - physiology; Models, Biological; Unsteady Aerodynamics; Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology; Wings, Animal - physiology; dynamically changing wingspan; flapping flight; unsteady aerodynamics; bat flight

This paper elucidates the aerodynamic role of the dynamically changing wingspan in bat flight. Based on direct numerical simulations of the flow over a slow-flying bat, it is found that the dynamically changing wingspan can significantly enhance the lift. Further, an analysis of flow structures and...