Microstructure-induced biomechanical responses of dragonfly wing veins

Physorg.com
June 3, 2011

Wang's research team discovered the sandwich microstructure of dragonfly wing veins and recently revealed the organic junction between these longitudinal veins and membranes of the dragonfly wing. Based on observed microstructural model and previously reported model about the main longitudinal veins and membrane, in which the former is based on the tubular model with sandwich structure in thickness of tubular, and the latter is based on the sample tubular model with the same material in thickness of tubular, they were used to simulate and characterize the biomechanical responses of dragonfly wings under symmetrical loading.

The results indicated that the effect of different microstructural models on the flapping frequency, trajectories, and corrugated and torsional behaviors of the wing cannot be ignored. This is because the sandwich microstructure, consisting of soft matter with fibers in the protein layer and hierarchical structure in the chitin layer, of the longitudinal vein plays an important role in improving aerodynamic efficiency by creating self-adaptability in the flapping, torsion and camber variations of the wing as it twists. Understanding the complete structure of the wing, including the microstructural features and the organic junction between veins and membranes, provides new insight into the flight mechanism of the dragonfly and the wing's biomechanical responses, as shown by the study reported in issue 56 of the Chinese Science Bulletin and to be reported in the future.

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