Bristled-wing design of materials, microstructures, and aerodynamics enables flapping flight in tiny wasps
Yonggang Jiang,
Peng Zhao,
Xuefei Cai,
Jiaxin Rong,
Zihao Dong,
Huawei Chen,
Peng Wu,
Hongying Hu,
Xiangxiang Jin,
Deyuan Zhang,
Hao Liu
Affiliations
Yonggang Jiang
Insitute of Bionic and Micro-nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China; Corresponding author
Peng Zhao
Insitute of Bionic and Micro-nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Xuefei Cai
Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
Jiaxin Rong
Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan
Zihao Dong
Insitute of Bionic and Micro-nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Huawei Chen
Insitute of Bionic and Micro-nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Peng Wu
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021, China; Corresponding author
Hongying Hu
College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
Xiangxiang Jin
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Deyuan Zhang
Insitute of Bionic and Micro-nano Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Hao Liu
Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan; Corresponding author
Summary: Parasitoid wasps of the smallest flying insects with bristled wings exhibit sophisticated flight behaviors while challenging biomechanical limitations in miniaturization and low-speed flow regimes. Here, we investigate the morphology, material composition, and mechanical properties of the bristles of the parasitoid wasps Anagrus Haliday. The bristles are extremely stiff and exhibit a high-aspect-ratio conical tubular structure with a large Young's modulus. This leads to a marginal deflection and uniform structural stress distribution in the bristles while they experience high-frequency flapping–induced aerodynamic loading, indicating that the bristles are robust to fatigue. The flapping aerodynamics of the bristled wings reveal that the wing surfaces act as porous flat paddles to reduce the overall inertial load while utilizing a passive shear-based aerodynamic drag-enhancing mechanism to generate the requisite aerodynamic forces. The bristled wing may have evolved as a novel design that achieves multiple functions and provides innovative ideas for developing bioinspired engineering microdevices.
