THESIS KAKITAHflAM

THE "CLAP AND FLING" LIFT MECHANISM

by
Maheran Nuruddin

Dissertation submitted for the Degree of Master of Science

of the
University of Newcastle Upon Tyne

September 1993

CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION............................................... 1

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO FLYING.................. 3

1.1: Development of aerodynamic 1ift.................5 1.1.1: To prove that the stagnation points move downwards........................... 7 1.1.2: The establishment of circulation round the aerofoi1.......................8 1.2: Sustained forward f1ight....................... 10 1.3: Hovering flight................................ 12 1.3.1: Normal hovering......................... 13 1.3.2: "Exceptional" hovering.................. 16
CHAPTER 2: "CLAP AND FLING" LIFT MECHANISM................ 17

2.1: Hovering flight of Encarsia formosa and the "f1i ng" mechani sm.............................. 17 2.1.1: The "f1i ng"............................. 20 2.2: Two-dimensional analysis of the "fling" process........................................ 22
2 . 2 . 1 : Lighthi11 ! s a n a l y s i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4

2.2.2: To calculate circulation as a i ncreases............................... 25 2.2.3: To analyse the aerodynamics of the "clap and fling" mechanism using a conformal mappi ng technique............. 26 2.2.4: The complex potential and circulation for the "fling" process.................31

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CHAPTER 3: VISCOUS EFFECTS................................42

3.1: Vorticity in viscous flow region............... 42

3.2: Effects of the acceleration and deceleration

of the external stream on the surfaces of a

wing...........................................45
CHAPTER 4: THREE-DIMENSIONAL EFFECTS......................59

4.1: Three-dimensional model of flow around the wings..........................................59 4.2: Three-dimensional motion of Encarsia formosa...66
CONCLUSION................................................68 REFERENCES

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very grateful to my supervisor, Dr. R.R.Kerswell for his guidance, helpful suggestion, useful comments and constant encouragement during the course of my study.

I would like to express my thanks to Dr. R.S.Johnson for his guidance and to all staff in the Department of Applied Mathematics who have contributed to this work in one way or
another.

I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to MARA Institute of Technology for offering me the opportunity and providing me the financial support throughout my studies at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my husband, Jaaffar Hassan, my daughter, Amalina Jaaffar, my parents and friends for their support and encouragement.

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THE "CLAP AND FLING" LIFT MECHANISM

by
Maheran Nuruddin

ABSTRACT

In 1973, Wei s-Fogh demonstrated that the high 1i ft coefficient necessary for hovering flight in certain insects is incompatible with classical aerodynamics principles and proposed a new mechanism of lift generation, the "clap and fling" mechanism, whereby the wing movements generate circulation around the wings. A two-dimensional, inviscid analysis by Lighthi11 (1973) showed that the ci rculation generated by the "fling" is sufficient to permit sustained flight. Viscous effects act to enhance this circulation by the production of a patch of vorticity at the wing's leading edge. A discussion is also offered of the three-dimensional aspects of the "clap and fling" mechanism. An associated downflow due to tip vortices tends to reduce the lift experienced by the wings slightly.

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INTRODUCTION

A flying animal has a beauty of its own!

One of the important practical aims of research into fluid dynamics is to improve locomotion through fluid media. Over many years, this has led to the design of efficient vehicles for locomotion through air or water. A modern aeroplane i s one of the remarkable products of such research. It would not have been invented if Nature had not provided the obvious prototype in flying animals. The aerodynamic flight performance of flying animals has led to remarkable results that suggest new engineering possibilities. Therefore it is of interest to pursue research both into aerodynamics and biofluiddynamics. Flight has many different functions: food-seeking, foodtaking, migration, and reproduction purposes. Evolutionary development of flying in different insect groups must have resulted from advantages in food-seeking, dispersal and also from the pressures brought about by predators. Smart and Hughes (1972) relate the phenomenon of development of insect flight to the appearance of tall terrestrial plants, which are food sources suitable for crawling insects. This could have favoured the evolution of aerodynamic surfaces or
wi ngs.

Many different capabilities are needed by flying animals. Sustained forward flight needs wing motion to yield lift and thrust. In order for a flying animal to propel itself along a horizontal course, its body must be subjected to lift, an upward force equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to its own weight, and to thrust, a propulsive force sufficient to overcome the backward drag of the air moving past its body. In f lyi ng animal s, 1 i ft and thrust are both provided by the same aerodynamic surfaces.

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Most

flying

animals are

also capable of

hovering

flight

either for prolonged periods or for short intervals in taking-off and landing. The problem of weight support is different for hovering flight. The majority of hovering animals support their weight by motions which can be understood in terms of classical aerodynamic principles. However smaller flying animals adopt a different mode of hovering. Weis-Fogh (1972,1973) was the first to investigate how animals hover in still air. He made a study of modes of hovering flight in insects, birds and bats. He demonstrated the use of a mode of motion which he cal led "normal hovering" and also discovered various exceptional modes of hovering. He showed that insects of sizes below about 2mm are prevented by the viscosity of the air from using normal hovering. He proposed that they use a mechanism of lift generation previously unknown to aerodynamists: the "clap and fling" mechanism. The main purpose in this dissertation is to study this "clap and fling" mechanism of lift generation as practised by the chalcid wasp, Encarsi a formosa. an economically important parasite used in the biological control of greenhouse amphids. Motivated by the observations of Weis-Fogh, Lighthill analysed the "clap and fling" mechanism through a purely inviscid, two-dimensional flow. This is di scussed i n detai 1 in Chapter 2. The flow pattern wi 11 be modified due to the presence of vi scous effects and this is dealt wi th in Chapter 3. Finally, in Chapter 4, some consideration is made in fitting the two-dimensional motion ideas into a threedimensional model of the flow around the real wings of Encarsia formosa.

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CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO FLYING

The main purpose of thi s chapter i s to di scuss some general aspects of flying. To understand animal flight, an understanding of the basic science of aerodynamics is necessary, that is, the motion of bodies through air. A study into the aerodynamic aspects of animal flight is primarily concerned with the forces which result from the i nteraction of the flying animal with the air. The motion of a flying animal in air corresponds to the
motion of a body immersed in a fluid. The motion of the body

is related to the lift and drag components of the resultant

dynamic force R (in this case aerodynamic force) exerted on

the body by the fluid. Drag ?, the resistance to motion, is the component of the resultant force opposite to the direction of motion U and lift L is the component normal to
its direction (Figure 1.1).

Figure 1. 1

Only certain shapes will produce a high lift-drag ratio and hence be effici ent enough to be practical. Such bodi es are
usually termed aerofoils and for flying animals, the wings

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act as aerofoils. In this chapter we are concerned with the lift experienced by an aerofoil. We calculate the lift using the theory of classical aerodynamics in which we model the flow as being a two-dimensional, irrotational motion of an inviscid, incompressible fluid. Such approximations are known to give good results.
Inviscid flow means that the viscosity of the fluid is assumed to be zero and as a result no viscous drag is produced. Incompressibi1ity of the fluid means that the density of the fluid is constant. Motion in which the vorticity is zero is said to be irrotational. An
i rrotational flow (wi th veloci ty potenti al 0) of an

incompressible fluid (with streamfunction ), can be described by the complex potential w = 0 + f where the complex plane is defined by z - x + iy. The complex potential property of the flow makes it possible for us to associate the flow around a two-dimensional aerofoil with that around a circular cylinder by means of a mathematical
technique known as conforms! transformation. A

transformation by means of an analytic relation between two complex variables is said to be a con formal transformation
as in Fi gure 1.2.

z - plane

f-.z =

- plane

Joukowski transformation

Figure 1.2
Suppose that it is possible to establish a conformal mapping between the complex variable and z, given by f such that =f(z). Then, by means of the transformation equation above, we can deduce the flow past the aerofoi1 by solving for the
corresponding flow past the circular cylinder.

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In Section 1, we discuss the mechani sm by which 1 i f t is produced on a circular cylinder placed in an inviscid, i ncompressi ble, i rrotational flow. This will lead us to finding the lift exerted on a two-dimensional aerofoil since the lift is the same as that produced on a circular cylinder. This is then followed by a discussion on the two extremes in flying: sustained forward flight is discussed in Section 2 and the other extreme of flying, hovering, where the animal remai ns motionless in still a i r , is briefly described in Section 3.

1.1: Development of aerodynamic lift

A side force or "lift" on a body arises from the combined effect of the forward motion of the body due to transl ational wind velocity and the circulation round it and is independent of the size, shape and orientation of the body - in the confines of inviscid theory.

Figure 1.3

We consider the flow due to a circular cylinder placed hori zontally in a uniform stream of inviscid, i ncompressi ble fluid. The streamline pattern is illustrated in Figure 1.3. The 1 ine PQRS is a streaml i ne cal led the dividing streamli ne, si nee it separates the fluid which passes over the top and below the cylinder. The points Q and R are stagnati on poi nts at the foremost and rearmost of the

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cyli nder. The veloci ty di stribution is symmetric about QR. By Bernoulli's theorem, the pressure distribution over the cylinder on the top side is the same as that on the bottom side, therefore there is no lift. Symmetry about TU shows
that there is also no drag.

Figure 1.4 Next we consider a circular cyli nder in a uni form stream with circulation K in a clockwise sense. The circulation may

be produced in practice by rotating the cylinder about its

axis. The viscosity of the real fluid would then produce

such circulation. The streamlines are then as illustrated in Figure 1.4. The circulation causes the stagnation points to move downwards (this is proved in Section 1.1.1). The speed
is increased on the upper surface (indicated by crowded

streamlines in Figure 1.4) and decreases over the lower surface (the streamlines are spread apart in the diagram) of the cylinder. From Bernoulli's theorem, pressure on the lower surface is greater than that on the upper surface. Thus the cylinder w i l l experience a force in a direction
perpendi cular to the uni form stream and upwards (1i ft

force). This lifting effect produced by the circulation is called the Magnus effect. Symmetry about TU is still mai ntai ned. Hence there wi 11 be no force in the horizontal direction i.e. no drag.

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The result that for any two-dimensional body, when it is placed in a flow of inviscid fluid with or without circulation, the drag is zero, is sometimes referred to as d'Alembert's paradox. Rigid bodies do of course experience a resistance to their motion through a real fluid.

1.1.1: To prove that the stagnation points move downwards

Consider the flow with no circulation about the circle ||=a in a uniform stream (i/,0). The complex potential is given by:
2

w(U
using

= u

fC + ~ 1
Circle

.....................(1.1)
Theorem, and the complex

Milne-Thompson's

velocity is:

dw

= u - iv = U f 1 - 1.

.............(1.2)

dw The stagnation points are found from _ = 0

2

that is:

which implies that C - a. Therefore stagnation points Q and R in Figure 1.3 are -a and a respectively.
Now, in adding a circulation K round the cylinder, we add a
uniform line vortex at the origin which corresponds to a

complex

potential

of

7K -*-

In C2

Hence

the

total

complex

potential at is w(C) = U f C + I 1 + 4
ln

...........(1.3)

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The complex velocity is

.. f ,
=

a 1
1

7/f

" I

" ? J

,- , , (1.4)

But C = ae dw

, therefore

-2ie

-ye
7/fe

2na

i<*T7'e f 2sine

The stagnation points occur where

= 0,

and hence they are given by the points:

9 = sin"1 f - 7S^ i ^ 4na

Since sin 0 is negative, the values of 9 are in the third and fourth quadrant which correspond to the stagnation poi nts bei ng shi fted downwards.

1.1.2: The establishment of circulation round the aerofoil.

Figure

1.5

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The initial flow when a two-dimensional aerofoil moves through an inviscid, incompressible fluid at rest is as shown in Figure 1.5. The rear stagnation point lies on the upper surface of the aerofoil, and fluid is forced to flow round the sharp trailing edge, where the speed is very high. This is associated with low pressure at the trailing edge A and a higher pressure at the stagnation point B. There is a very high speed at A and zero speed at B, therefore fluid rapidly decelerates from A to B, as shown in Figure 1.6(a). This causes the boundary layer to separate from the aerofoil surface (Figure 1.6(b)).

Figure 1. 6(a)

Figure 1.6(b)

A localised patch of vorticity is generate discharged downstream or "shedded" (the Wagner

Kelvin's Circulation Theorem this leaves an

opposite circulation in place about the aerofoi illustrated in Figure 1.7 .

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Figure 1.7

1.2: Sustained forward flight

In order for a flying animal to have sustained forward flight, it must be able to generate enough lift to balance body weight and enough thrust to balance body drag. These are the basic aerodynamic requirements.

Path of motion of plate

Figure 1.8

To understand this, we consider a flat plate held with its surface inclined by a smal1 angle (a) to a current of ai r, as shown in Figure 1.8. It is exposed to two forces: a backward drag (D) tending to displace the plate downstream; and an upward 1 i ft (Z.) tendi ng to rai se the plate in a direction normal to the air stream. The resultant force (/?) acting on the plate is inclined backwards to the vertical by an angle ( 5 which depends on the 1 i ft/drag ratio of the |) plate. 10
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Path of motion

Figure 1.9

Each narrow longitudinal section of the wing can be regarded as an aerofoil moving in the air whose reaction depends on its shape, speed and direction of motion relative to the air. If the wing is moving horizontally relative to the air, it w i l l generate lift, provided its 'chord1 is inclined at a positive angle to its direction of motion. It w i l l generate
a forward propulsive force ( P) if the path of motion is

directed downwards at an appropriate angle to the horizontal. As illustrated in Figure 1.9, the resultant force R has a vertical upward component ( V} and a forward
propul si on component ( P) .

During hori zontal f 1 ight at constant speed, the 1 i f t of the wings must be exactly equal to the weight of the flying animal, and the external propulsive force applied to the body must be equal but opposite to the drag. The distinctive feature of an actively flying animal is that the wings themselves provide the propulsive thrust as well as generating the lift.
Fcrkhidmatan : : -n A b d u i Razafc >'AKA Instiu:' -10450 Shah
wlan;(or Darul

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The amount of lift and drag generated by the air against a wing can be calculated by:
Lift - ^ CLSptf ......................... (1 .5)

Drag = ^ CDSplf

......................... (1 .6)

where Q is coefficient, S air and U the surface of the

the lift coefficient, CD is the drag the area of the wing, p the density of the velocity of the air stream relative to the wing.

It may be worthwhile to note that, observations strongly shows that the maximum animal mass for a mode of 1i fe that includes a requirement for weight support by sustained forward flight is around 12kg.

1.3: Hovering flight

Hovering flight, as defined by Sir James Lighthill [2], is the movement of wings through which the body of an animal remains effectively motionless in still air. It is a characteri stic of flying insects, and is used in many modes of their life especially their symbiosis with the flowering pi ants.
The animal's weight must be supported without the help of horizontal relative wind. Due to this reason, the size of hoveri ng animals must be smal1. The upper l i m i t size for hovering animal is a mass of around 20g.

Hovering is also possible in flying animals other than insect such as the Hummingbirds with mass at most 20g and small bats with masses around 10g. The same hovering motions are used by larger animals (weighing more than 20g) to 12
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support their weight during taking off and landing but for very short intervals, such as in aquatic birds.

1.3.1: Normal hovering

Normal

hovering motions are an adaptation of the motions

used for forward flight. Weis-Fogh [3] defined it as (a) active flight on the spot in still air by means of wings which are moved (b) through a large stroke angle and (c) approximately in a horizontal plane, while (d) the long axis of the body is strongly inclined relative to the horizontal, sometimes almost to a vertical position.

Figure 1.10 Horizontal movement of wings relative to the air is needed to generate lift for weight support. But since hovering animals as a whole remain motionless during hovering, the animals have to tilt the long axis of the body towards the vertical (Figure 1.10), so that the wings beat back and forth in an almost horizontal plane.

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In his broad study on animals capable of sustained hovering flight, Weis-Fogh (1972, 1973) has identified that the Hummingbirds and insects of eleven different orders adopt the common pattern of motion of which he named "normal" hovering, with the following principle exceptions: certain
very smal1 insects such as the chalcid wasp Encarsia

formosa. Lepidoptera such as butterflies, Odonata (dragon flies) and Diptera (hoverf1ies); which have a modified form of "normal" hovering. To arrive at the above conclusion, Weis-Fogh [3] did direct cinematography observation on hovering motions and calculated the mean lift coefficient C^ required by various species for weight support in "normal" hovering flight. Table 1 on the next page shows some of the results of these calculations with asterisks attached to insects under the exceptional groups. Excluding those exceptional groups, Table 1 shows that the CL are small, seldom exceeding 1.0. In other words, the motions of "normal" hovering can support the weight of each of the animals concerned without requiring the production of high mean lift coefficient.

Weis-Fogh estimated the CL by using the equation below. For a given angular velocity 0 of wing beat:
Lift/unit area of wing =

where U, the horizontal velocity of a small area ( ) of wing S through the air, is Q times its distance from the hinge axis. Hence the total lift can be written as
L = ^p02SCL ............................ .(1 .7)

where CL is a weighted mean of the sectional lift coefficient CL. Since the lift must balance the weight, it follows that
= mg ............................(1.8)
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TABLE 1

Average coeff ici ent of lift,CL

Bats:

Reynolds number, (Re)

14000 7500 4700 3000 23000
1400 6300 6700 2800

Plecotus auritus Bi rds: Hummi ngbi rds Amazi1ia fimbriata Coleoptera: beetles MeJolontha vulgar is Us Amphitna 1 Ton solstitial is Heliocopris sp. Dths Lepidoptera: butterf1ies,moths * Pier is napi Sphinx 1 igustri Manduca sexta rum Macroglossum stellatarum Hymenoptera: wasps, bees Vespa crabro Bombus terrestris Apis mellifica *Encarsia formosa (C Icid wasp) Diptera: crane flies, mo uitoes & flies Tipula sp. Aedes aegypti Eristalis tenax *Drosophila viri1 is *Syrphus spp. Odonata: dragon flies *Aeshna grandis

(1.3) 2.0 0.6 0.7 0.5 (2.2) 1 .2 1 .2

1. 1
0.8 1 .2 0.8

(5.0)"
0.8 0.6 0.9 1 .0 (2 to 3) (2 to 3)

4200 4500 1900 15

770
170

2000 210 500

1750

Revised estimates (Ellington (1974))

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For a given aerofoil the coefficients of lift and drag depend not only on the angle of attack but also on Reynolds
number (Re). This is particularly so in tiny insects, where the Reynolds number is small and viscous effects are

important. The general expression in calculating Reynolds number used by Weis-Fogh is

(Re) = = .........................(1.9)

where c is the wing chord, ^ is the viscosity of the air and the ratio H is called kinematic viscosity v. The Reynolds number for various hoveri ng animal s is al so gi ven i n Table 1. In the range of Re between 10 and 100 where the drag
tends to be larger than the liftj normal flight would be

difficult. Above 100-200 the lift/drag ratio has improved sufficiently for normal flight to be operative.

1.3.2: "Exceptional" hovering

In tiny insects, where Re may be as low as 10 or even smaller, there are major problems in achi evi ng 1i ft. But evolutionary opportunities for insects have given rise to muscular development, which allows the wings to beat at very
high frequency, and also to aerodynamically novel modes of

flight which permit weight support at low Re. In Encarsi a formosa. a special movement of the wing known as "clap and fling" mechanism is used. This mechanism is studied in detail in the following chapters.

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CHAPTER 2 "CLAP AND FLING" LIFT MECHANISM

According

to

classical

aerofoil

theory,

the

lift

force

acting on an aerofoil is proportional to the circulation around the aerofoil. This circulation is produced by the release of a "starting vortex" soon after the aerofoil is set into motion from rest (this is the Wagner effect, discussed in chapter 1).
Weis-Fogh observed that the wings of the Encarsia formosa do

not follow the normal motions associated with hovering. Instead the wasp adopt a special wing movement where the wings come together at the top of the stroke. Seeing this, he proposed that this novel movement, the "clap and fling", produced the necessary circulation to be generated around the wings rather than waiting for the Wagner effect to take effect.
In this chapter, we shall describe the "clap and fling"

mechanism

of

circulation

generation

for

the

tiny

wasp, in

Encarsi a formosa. A summary of Lighthill's two-dimensi onal

inviscid flow analysis of

Section 2.

the mechanism

is presented

2.1:

Hovering flight of Encarsia formosa and the "fling"

mechanism

Figure 2.1 shows the morphology of Encarsi a formosa. an insect of size around 1mm, which Weis-Fogh used for his study of hovering flight in very small insects.

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IHcSlO KA.U.ttiSAM

Figure 2.1

The pictures of free flying Encarsia as illustrated in Figure 2.2 on the next page was obtained by Weis-Fogh by means of high speed cinematography. In the diagram, the animal is seen at a somewhat slanting angle with its long axis slightly tilted towards the reader. The sequence of movements contains three phases: (i) the "clap", which initiates the process, where the 2 pairs of wings are brought together as a single vertical plate behind its back with leading edge vertically above trailing edge (no. 0), ( i i ) the "f 1 i ng" , can be i deal i zed as an openi ng up of the two wings as if hinged along the lower edge (nos. 1 and 2), and ( i i i ) the flip whereby after the two wings break apart (nos, 3-5) the two wings rotate as a whole so that the undersides become their topsides and vice-versa (nos. 7-9). The motion (nos. 3-13) is the "normal" hoveri ng unti1 the next clap occurs (nos.14-16).
ahgian Rui-akan & Perkhidmttan Pemfcwni
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F O i O b l A T 7iDAK

Stroke 2 ends

Stroke 3 starts

15 Horizontal

16
J

2mm

Figure 2.2

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