Videos

Tightly coupled simulation of a Monarch butterfly model. White dotted lines represent the trajectories observed from real Monarch butterflies. In the numerical model the Navier-Stokes equations are solved around the flapping wings, which are attached to the body with a torsional spring. The body dynamics equations of motion are solved that are influenced by and, at the same time, influences the unsteady aerodynamics and the torsional spring dynamics. Only the flapping amplitude is imposed on the wings. The wing and body rotations are purely passive. The resulting trajectory is an outcome of the combined dynamics.