Rarefaction effect on the aerodynamics of bristled wings in miniature insects

Abstract

All previous studies on the aerodynamics of bristled wings in miniature insects are based on continuum flows. However, the diameter of the bristle is very small, and the diameter-based Knudsen number (Kn) is approximately between 0.03 and 0.11, indicating that the flow around the bristle is in the slip-flow regime and rarefaction effect will be present. To investigate how the rarefaction will affect the aerodynamic force and flow field of the bristled wing, we calculated and analyzed the flow around a model bristled wing under two conditions: the continuum flow and the slip flow. The following is shown. Within the range of Kn considered in this study (0.01 ≤ Kn ≤ 0.1), the rarefaction has a very small effect on the aerodynamic force of the bristled wing: it decreases the aerodynamic force by less than 0.5% compared with that of the continuum flow. However, the rarefaction has a significant effect on the contributions of the viscous tangential and normal stress terms to the aerodynamic force: in the continuum flow, the force contribution of the viscous tangential stress is 50.7% and that of the viscous normal stress is zero, whereas in the slip flow, e.g., at Kn = 0.08, the contribution of the viscous tangential stress is only 37.7% and that of the viscous normal stress is 12.9% instead of zero; this is because the rarefaction-induced slip velocity in the slip flow changes the normal derivative of the velocity on the bristle surface compared with that of the continuum flow. Since the rarefaction has only a slight effect on the aerodynamic force, the results on the aerodynamic force of the bristled wing obtained based on continuum flows in previous studies are very good approximations to the correct results.