Visualization Study on a Reduced Frequency of a Dragonfly type wing

The purpose of this visualization study is to investigate the effect of reduced frequency qualitatively by examining wake patterns for dragonfly flight motion. Dragonflies have two pairs of wing (a forewing and hindwing) and flight is achieved by a pitching and plunging, so it makes a separation over the wings. The separation affects the wake pattern and changed wake pattern has an influence on lift, drag, and propulsion. This experiment was conducted by using a smoke wire technique and a camera fixed above the test section used to take a photograph of the wake. An electronic device is mounted below the test section to find the exact mean positional angle of the wing. The reduced frequency in the experiment is 0.15, 0.3 and 0.45. Results show that reduced frequency is closely related to the wake pattern that determines flight efficiency.