Energetically Optimal Short-Range Gliding Trajectories for Gliding Animals

Maximum range in steady-state glides is achieved when the lift coefficient is chosen to maximize the lift-to-drag ratio. Whether or not this same steady-state result applies to animal gliders is examined. Because animal gliders spend relatively little time in the air and glide relatively short distances, it is expected that the transient behavior at the beginning and end of the glide will govern their performance. A time-dependent, two-dimensional computational dynamics model is used to predict glide trajectories for biologically inspired gliders. The results demonstrate that glide range is greatest when the lift coefficient does not correspond to that predicted by classical steady-state gliding theory. This indicates that the transient dynamics of short-range gliders are important in maximizing their range.

[1]  D. B. O. Savilk.  GLIDING AND FLIGHT IN THE VERTEBRATES , 1962 .

[2]  Experimental Investigation on Aerodynamic Performance of Gliding Butterflies , 2010 .

[3]  T. Kawamichi,et al.  GLIDING BEHAVIOR OF JAPANESE GIANT FLYING SQUIRRELS (PETAURISTA LEUCOGENYS) , 2002 .

[4]  J. Thewissen,et al.  The Origin of Flight in BatsTo go where no mammal has gone before , 1992 .

[5]  U. Norberg.  Vertebrate Flight: Mechanics, Physiology, Morphology, Ecology and Evolution , 1990 .

[6]  Karl Vernes,et al.  GLIDING PERFORMANCE OF THE NORTHERN FLYING SQUIRREL (GLAUCOMYS SABRINUS) IN MATURE MIXED FOREST OF EASTERN CANADA , 2001 .

[7]  Kenneth Breuer,et al.  Aeromechanics of Membrane Wings with Implications for Animal Flight ArnoldSong, ∗ XiaodongTian, † EmilyIsraeli, ‡ RicardoGalvao, § KristinBishop, ¶ SharonSwartz, ∗∗ , 2008 .

[8]  Patrick Jenny,et al.  Energy Extraction from Onflow Inhomogeneity in the Spanwise Direction. A Theoretical Study , 2013, J. Intell. Robotic Syst..

[9]  Tropical Rain Forest Structure and the Geographical Distribution of Gliding Vertebrates , 1990 .

[10]  R. Lewin.  How Did Vertebrates Take to the Air?: Aerodynamic analysis has produced novel support for the cursorial, as opposed to the arboreal, theory of the origin of birds. , 1983, Science.

[11]  Russell P. Balda,et al.  The Physics of Leaping Animals and the Evolution of Preflight , 1983, The American Naturalist.

[12]  Kristin L Bishop.  The relationship between 3-D kinematics and gliding performance in the southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans , 2006, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[13]  Robert Dudley,et al.  Gliding and the Functional Origins of Flight: Biomechanical Novelty or Necessity? , 2007 .

[14]  J. Anderson,et al.  Fundamentals of Aerodynamics , 1984 .

[15]  J. Scheibe,et al.  Kinematics and Functional Morphology of Leaping, Landing, and Branch Use in Glaucomys sabrinus , 2007 .

[16]  Joseph Z. Ben-Asher,et al.  Singular Perturbation Analysis of Optimal Glide , 2004 .

[17]  Ulla M. Norberg,et al.  Evolution of Vertebrate Flight: An Aerodynamic Model for the Transition from Gliding to Active Flight , 1985, The American Naturalist.

[18]  Richard L Essner.  Three-dimensional launch kinematics in leaping, parachuting and gliding squirrels. , 2002, The Journal of experimental biology.

[19]  Joseph W Bahlman,et al.  Glide performance and aerodynamics of non-equilibrium glides in northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) , 2013, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.