MILLER, L. A.; PESKIN, C.: A numerical simulation of two-dimensional insect flight

The immersed boundary method was used to simulate the aerodynamics around a two-dimensional wing whose motion approximated Drosophila melanogaster flight kinematics. The immersed boundary method numerically solves the equations describing fluid motion with a moving, flexible boundary submerged in a fluid. This method was used in a number of simulations which varied angle of attack and translation distance of the wing. Fluid velocity fields as well as lift and drag forces across the wing were calculated for each simulated wing stroke. The estimated lift and drag forces were also compared to measurements taken in a similarly designed physical model. Future research will expand this model into a fully three-dimensional simulation of Drosphila flight.