Dynamics of bumblebees flying in a vortex street

Abstract eng:
We analyze the flight dynamics of bumblebees using a combination of experiments and high fidelity numerical simulations. We focus on unsteady inflow conditions generated by placing a vertical cylinder at the inlet of the wind tunnel test section, resulting in the formation of a von K´arm´an vortex street in the wake. Flight trajectories of bumblebees flying upwind in unsteady winds towards an artificial flower were measured using high speed videography. Then we performed high fidelity numerical simulations of an insect model with similar anatomical features, flying in similar unsteady wind, with no flight control, to investigate the passive dynamic interactions. By comparing the experiment and the numerical simulation, we reveal that bumblebees use a combination of active and passive strategies to mitigate the challenges imposed by the inflow unsteadiness.

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