Effects of multiple vein microjoints on the mechanical behaviour of dragonfly wings: numerical modelling

Abstract

Dragonfly wings are known as biological composites with high morphological complexity. They mainly consist of a network of rigid veins and flexible membranes, and enable insects to perform various flight manoeuvres. Although several studies have been done on the aerodynamic performance of Odonata wings and the mechanisms involved in their deformations, little is known about the influence of vein joints on the passive deformability of the wings in flight. In this article, we present the first three-dimensional finite-element models of five different vein joint combinations observed in Odonata wings. The results from the analysis of the models subjected to uniform pressures on their dorsal and ventral surfaces indicate the influence of spike-associated vein joints on the dorsoventral asymmetry of wing deformation. Our study also supports the idea that a single vein joint may result in different angular deformations when it is surrounded by different joint types. The developed numerical models also enabled us to simulate the camber formation and stress distribution in the models. The computational data further provide deeper insights into the functional role of resilin patches and spikes in vein joint structures. This study might help to more realistically model the complex structure of insect wings in order to design more efficient bioinspired micro-air vehicles in future.