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A quantitative comparison of bird and bat wakes.

Johansson, Christoffer LU ; Wolf, Marta LU and Hedenström, Anders LU (2010) In Journal of the Royal Society Interface 7. p.61-66
Abstract
Qualitative comparison of bird and bat wakes has demonstrated significant differences in the structure of the far wake. Birds have been found to have a unified vortex wake of the two wings, while bats have a more complex wake with gradients in the circulation along the wingspan, and with each wing generating its own vortex structure. Here, we compare quantitative measures of the circulation in the far wake of three bird and one bat species. We find that bats have a significantly stronger normalized circulation of the start vortex than birds. We also find differences in how the circulation develops during the wingbeat as demonstrated by the ratio of the circulation of the dominant start vortex and the total circulation of the same sense.... (More)
Qualitative comparison of bird and bat wakes has demonstrated significant differences in the structure of the far wake. Birds have been found to have a unified vortex wake of the two wings, while bats have a more complex wake with gradients in the circulation along the wingspan, and with each wing generating its own vortex structure. Here, we compare quantitative measures of the circulation in the far wake of three bird and one bat species. We find that bats have a significantly stronger normalized circulation of the start vortex than birds. We also find differences in how the circulation develops during the wingbeat as demonstrated by the ratio of the circulation of the dominant start vortex and the total circulation of the same sense. Birds show a more prominent change with changing flight speed and a relatively weaker start vortex at minimum power speed than bats. We also find that bats have a higher normalized wake loading based on the start vortex, indicating higher relative induced drag and therefore less efficient lift generation than birds. Our results thus indicate fundamental differences in the aerodynamics of bird and bat flight that will further our understanding of the evolution of vertebrate flight. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of the Royal Society Interface
volume
7
pages
61 - 66
publisher
The Royal Society of Canada
external identifiers
  • wos:000271951100005
  • scopus:70349666906
  • pmid:19324669
ISSN
1742-5662
DOI
10.1098/rsif.2008.0541
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
79996815-3aca-4c5b-b8fe-d9a33b087ecc (old id 1367446)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:13:24
date last changed
2022-04-12 03:13:02
@article{79996815-3aca-4c5b-b8fe-d9a33b087ecc,
  abstract     = {{Qualitative comparison of bird and bat wakes has demonstrated significant differences in the structure of the far wake. Birds have been found to have a unified vortex wake of the two wings, while bats have a more complex wake with gradients in the circulation along the wingspan, and with each wing generating its own vortex structure. Here, we compare quantitative measures of the circulation in the far wake of three bird and one bat species. We find that bats have a significantly stronger normalized circulation of the start vortex than birds. We also find differences in how the circulation develops during the wingbeat as demonstrated by the ratio of the circulation of the dominant start vortex and the total circulation of the same sense. Birds show a more prominent change with changing flight speed and a relatively weaker start vortex at minimum power speed than bats. We also find that bats have a higher normalized wake loading based on the start vortex, indicating higher relative induced drag and therefore less efficient lift generation than birds. Our results thus indicate fundamental differences in the aerodynamics of bird and bat flight that will further our understanding of the evolution of vertebrate flight.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Christoffer and Wolf, Marta and Hedenström, Anders}},
  issn         = {{1742-5662}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{61--66}},
  publisher    = {{The Royal Society of Canada}},
  series       = {{Journal of the Royal Society Interface}},
  title        = {{A quantitative comparison of bird and bat wakes.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2008.0541}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rsif.2008.0541}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}