Insects depend on vortices to keep them aloft

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Insects utilize vortices to achieve lift, a phenomenon that challenges traditional aerodynamic explanations, particularly in the case of bumblebees. Recent research has highlighted how the small size of insects allows them to exploit viscous effects in the air, differing significantly from larger aircraft. There is ongoing interest in developing man-made devices that mimic this natural lifting mechanism, particularly in the field of micro-air vehicles (MAVs). Significant funding, particularly from DARPA, is directed towards advancing technologies that replicate the flight capabilities of insects and other small fliers. The exploration of these concepts continues to reveal insights into both biological and engineering applications.
Gonzolo
"Insects depend on vortices to keep them aloft"

As a kid, I remember learning that aerodynamics couldn't explain how bumblebees flew. Recently (2000), much light was shed on the subject (thread title quoted from link) :

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/March00/APS_Wang.hrs.html

My question is : is there presently any man-made device that take advantage of vortices to generate lift, as do hovering bumblebees?

Assuming we are not there, what are the smallest flying machines and how long can they fly?
 
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Gonzolo said:
As a kid, I remember learning that aerodynamics couldn't explain how bumblebees flew. Recently (2000), much light was shed on the subject (thread title quoted from link) :

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/March00/APS_Wang.hrs.html

My question is : is there presently any man-made device that take advantage of vortices to generate lift, as do hovering bumblebees?

Assuming we are not there, what are the smallest flying machines and how long can they fly?

Great link, I have looked into it and that's a great source of interesting things. I don't know the answer to any of the two questions. But the only thing I can say is that the fact demonstrates there are some flow phenomenas that depends on the spatial scales. The characteristic length of an insect is of the same order of magnitude of the viscous characteristic lenght. It is not so in the aerodynamics of an aircraft. As you are shortening the characteristic length of the body, viscous effects become progressively important, and the mechanism of lifting will be different. But you can think of the lifting process of an air molecule suspended into the air of a room. Probably his movement is completely governed by the viscosity. So that, I think there is not any lower limit.
 
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The animation is totally wicked. The phenomena is remeniscent of Brownian motion, in that length scale is relevant in both cases. It would be quite interesting to find similitudes and differences in both phenomena, which are from two entirely different fields of knowledge, AFAIK.
 
There is a lot of research into mimicing natural fliers. Birds, Bats, and insects. I do not know of any complete successes, but I do know that if you want more info, then search UAV's (Uncrude Air Vehicles)
 
Funny, I made a google search for "Uncrude Air Vehicles" and it brought me directly to here.
 
The military (or more appropriately DARPA) has been putting a load of money into micro-air vehicle (MAV) research.

A lot of money has been given to the University of Maryland to develop a micro-rotary wing vehicle and synthetic jet actuator controllers.

http://www.aero.umd.edu/research/agrc.html

Enjoy...
 
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