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Numerical analysis of the three-dimensional aerodynamics of a hovering rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

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Abstract

Hummingbirds have a unique way of hovering. However, only a few published papers have gone into details of the corresponding three-dimensional vortex structures and transient aerodynamic forces. In order to deepen the understanding in these two realms, this article presents an integrated computational fluid dynamics study on the hovering aerodynamics of a rufous hummingbird. The original morphological and kinematic data came from a former researcher’s experiments. We found that conical and stable leading-edge vortices (LEVs) with spanwise flow inside their cores existed on the hovering hummingbird’s wing surfaces. When the LEVs and other near-field vortices were all shed into the wake after stroke reversals, periodically shed bilateral vortex rings were formed. In addition, a strong downwash was present throughout the flapping cycle. Time histories of lift and drag were also obtained. Combining the three-dimensional flow field and time history of lift, we believe that high lift mechanisms (i.e., rotational circulation and wake capture) which take place at stroke reversals in insect flight was not evident here. For mean lift throughout a whole cycle, it is calculated to be 3.60 g (104.0 % of the weight support). The downstroke and upstroke provide 64.2 % and 35.8 % of the weight support, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank Prof. Bret Tobalske for providing the initial morphological and kinematic experimental data of a hovering rufous hummingbird. The authors also acknowledge Dr. Xijun Ke for his helpful suggestions on a previous version of the manuscript. This research was financially supported by the Supporting Foundation of the Ministry of Education (Grant 62501040303), the Pre-research Fund (Grants 9140A26020313JW03371, 9140A26020414JW03412), and the New Century Excellent Talents Support Program from the Ministry of Education of China (Grant NCET-10-0583).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Nano/Micro Fabrication Technology, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Lab of Navigation and Location-based Services, Department of Micro-Nano Electronics, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Songyuan Yang & Weiping Zhang

  2. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Songyuan Yang

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  1. Songyuan Yang
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Correspondence to Weiping Zhang.

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Yang, S., Zhang, W. Numerical analysis of the three-dimensional aerodynamics of a hovering rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus). Acta Mech. Sin. 31, 931–943 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-015-0450-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-015-0450-5

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