VIDEO DOI: https://doi.org/10.48448/vcc7-8g03

technical paper

SEB Conference Prague 2024

July 04, 2024

Prague, Czechia

Decoding aeroelastic response in flight feathers for flow sensing

keywords:

flow sensing

avian flight

feathers

Birds are capable of incredible feats in the air, rapidly adapting flight to suit varying behavioural needs and environmental conditions. These feats are made possible through the interaction of biomechanical and sensory systems. One such system, mechanosensation, the ability to sense changes in aerodynamic forces caused by air flow, is thought to be critical for flight control. Notably in birds, vibration-based flow sensors are distributed throughout much of the wing surface; rather, they are localised at the base of the flight feathers. Therefore, it is flow-generated deformations of the passive and flexible flight feathers that are sensed by the flow sensors and not the airflow directly. The goal of this study is to understand how flow information is encoded by the feather aeroelastic response. Additionally, we aim to investigate how wing morphing behaviour can modify this structure-based signal processing. In a wind tunnel, we systematically altered the flow speed and direction acting on dried zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) wings in different morphs. By measuring and parametrising the shape of the frequency response under different flow conditions, we could then quantify how certain features of this vibration response can encode information on different flow characteristics. This study helps us understand the role wing structures play in flow sensing before any further neural signal processing and may inspire morphologically “smart” designs for distributed flow sensing in engineered structures.

Downloads

Transcript English (automatic)

Next from SEB Conference Prague 2024

Similar challenges but different consequences: how climate change shapes metabolic strategies in endotherms and ectotherms
technical paper

Similar challenges but different consequences: how climate change shapes metabolic strategies in endotherms and ectotherms

SEB Conference Prague 2024

Elisa Thoral

05 July 2024

Stay up to date with the latest Underline news!

Select topic of interest (you can select more than one)

PRESENTATIONS

  • All Lectures
  • For Librarians
  • Resource Center
  • Free Trial
Underline Science, Inc.
1216 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

© 2023 Underline - All rights reserved