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Functional characteristics of dragonfly wings and its bionic investigation progress

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Abstract

Dragonfly is one of the most excellent nature flyers, and its wings exhibit excellent functional characteristics through the coupling and synergy of morphology, configuration, structure and material. The functional characteristics presented by dragonfly wings provide an biological inspiration for the investigation and development of aerospace vehicles and bionics flapping aerocraft flapping-wing micro air vehicles. In resent years, some progresses have been achieved in the researches on the wings’ geometric structure, material characteristics, flying mechanism and the controlling mode. In this paper, the functional characteristics of the dragonfly wings including flying, self-cleaning, anti-fatigue, vibration elimination and noise reduction are introduced and the effects of their morphology, configuration, structure and material on the functional characteristics are described. Moreover, the current state of the bionic study on the functional characteristics of dragonfly wings is analyzed and its application prospect is depicted.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130025, China

    LuQuan Ren & XiuJuan Li

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Ren, L., Li, X. Functional characteristics of dragonfly wings and its bionic investigation progress. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 56, 884–897 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-013-5158-9

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