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Odor-Guided Navigation
The ability to track odor plumes to their source (food, mate, etc.) is key to the survival of many insects. During this odor-guided navigation, flapping wings could actively draw odorants to the antennae to enhance olfactory sensitivity, but it is unclear if improving olfactory function comes at a cost to aerodynamic performance. Here, we computationally quantify both aerodynamic and olfactory functions in the upwind surging flight of insectes.
Butterfly in Forward Flight
Wake Structure
Odor Concentration Field
Odor
Source
Fruitfly in Forward Flight
Wake Structure
Odor Concentration Field
Odor
Source
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Chengyu Li, Haibo Dong, and Kai Zhao, "A balance between aerodynamic and olfactory performance during flight in Drosophila," Nature Communications 9, 3215 (2018). [Link]
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Menglong Lei and Chengyu Li, “Numerical investigation of passive pitching mechanism in odor-tracking flights,” AIAA Aviation, Reno, Nevada, June 2020. [Link]
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Chengyu Li, "Effect of wing pitch kinematics on both aerodynamic and olfactory functions in an upwind surge," Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 235(2), 296-307 (2021). [Link]
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Menglong Lei and Chengyu Li, "Wings and Whiffs: Understanding the role of aerodynamics in odor-guided flapping flight," Physics of Fluids 35, 121901 (2023). [Link]
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Menglong Lei, Mark Willis, Bryan Schmidt, and Chengyu Li, "Numerical investigation of odor-guided navigation in flying insect: Impact of turbulence, wing-induced flow, and Schmidt number on odor plume structures," Biomimetics 8(8), 593 (2023). [Link]
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