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Collective locomotion of swimming and flying animals is fascinating in terms of individual-level fluid mechanics and group-level structure and dynamics. Here we bridge and relate these scales through a model of formation flight that views…
Flying animals possess highly complex physical characteristics and are capable of performing agile maneuvers using their wings. The flapping wings generate complex wake structures that influence the aerodynamic forces, which can be…
Aeroelastic structures, from insect wings to wind turbine blades, experience transient unsteady aerodynamic loads that are coupled to their motion. Effective real-time control of flexible structures relies on accurate and efficient…
An innovative approach of gaining insight into motor skills involved in human body flight is proposed. The key idea is the creation of a model autonomous system capable of virtually performing skydiving maneuvers. A dynamic skydiver model…
Birds, bats and many insects can tuck their wings against their bodies at rest and deploy them to power flight. Whereas birds and bats use well-developed pectoral and wing muscles and tendons, how insects control these movements remains…
Airway clearance by coughing is a key mechanism for mucus transport, particularly in obstructive lung diseases associated with altered mucus rheology. We investigate the dynamics of a viscoplastic liquid film driven by flow in a turbulent…
Study of the locomotion of a centipede (L. forficatus) at the air-water interface reveals that it does not predominantly use its 14 leg pairs to locomote; unlike most swimmers which propagate head-to-tail body bending waves, this species…
A novel interface reconstruction strategy for volume of fluid (VOF) methods is introduced that represents the liquid-gas interface as two planes that co-exist within a single computational cell. In comparison to the piecewise linear…
Unmanned aerial-aquatic vehicles (UAAVs) can operate both in the air and underwater, giving them broad application prospects. Inspired by the dual-function wings of puffins, we propose a UAAV with amphibious wings to address the challenge…
A fluid dynamics video is linked to this article, which have been submitted to the Gallery of Fluid Motion as part of the 65th American Physical Society meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, held in San Diego, California, USA, over…
This study offers an interdisciplinary approach to movement technique analysis, designed to deal with intensive interaction between an environment and a trainee. The free-fall stage of skydiving is investigated, when aerial maneuvers are…
Manoeuvring untethered, centimetre-scale airborne structures has been a long-standing challenge. Active flight systems, relying on high-power-density actuators alongside mechanical and electronic components, are constrained by critical…
We develop a highly efficient numerical method to simulate small-amplitude flapping propulsion by a flexible wing in a nearly inviscid fluid. We allow the wing's elastic modulus and mass density to vary arbitrarily, with an eye towards…
Rapid and versatile object manipulation in air is an open challenge. An energy-efficient and adaptive soft gripper combined with an agile aerial vehicle could revolutionize aerial robotic manipulation in areas such as warehousing. This…
Flying quadrotors in tight formations is a challenging problem. It is known that in the near-field airflow of a quadrotor, the aerodynamic effects induced by the propellers are complex and difficult to characterize. Although machine…
We train active neural-network flow controllers using a deep learning PDE augmentation method to optimize lift-to-drag ratios in turbulent airfoil flows at Reynolds number $5\times10^4$ and Mach number 0.4. Direct numerical simulation and…
Thermal soaring saves much energy, but flying large distances in this form represents a great challenge for birds, people and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The solution is to make use of so-called thermals, which are localized, warmer…
The prediction of aircraft aerodynamic quantities of interest remains among the most pressing challenges for computational fluid dynamics. The aircraft aerodynamics are inherently turbulent with mean-flow three-dimensionality, often…
Video motion magnification techniques allow us to see small motions previously invisible to the naked eyes, such as those of vibrating airplane wings, or swaying buildings under the influence of the wind. Because the motion is small, the…
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) drives progress in numerous scientific and engineering fields, yet high-fidelity simulations remain computationally prohibitive. While machine learning approaches offer computing acceleration, they…