Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Medical Engineering
Major Professor
David W. Murphy, Ph.D.
Committee Member
John Murray-Bruce, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Wenbin Mao, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Sonya Tiomkin, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Ignazio Maria Viola, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Laura Ross, Ph.D.
Keywords
Bio-Aerodynamics, Clap and Fling, Compulsory Rowing, Inverse Problems, Micro-PIV
Abstract
Tiny insects are an extremely diverse set of organisms that have important engineering and economic applications. These organisms often fly and readily disperse distances that far exceed their body lengths. The mechanisms behind tiny insect flight are not well understood and present complex kinematics and unintuitive aerodynamics that depart from both fixed-winged mechanisms and larger insects. In addition, their tiny spatial and fast temporal scales make them exceedingly difficult to study, and to date, the field has relied on numerical studies and dynamic scaling. Herein, we describe three projects that significantly advanced our understanding of tiny insect flight and experimental methods used to obtain the data. First, we describe a novel brightfield micro-PIV methodology to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the first measurements of a freely flying tiny insect. Second, we conduct an in-depth experimental analysis of tiny insects to quantify and describe relevant vortex interactions. Third, we utilize a novel vertical wind tunnel to examine tiny insect flight behaviors in a convective upwelling and relate that to large-scale behaviors. We conclude the dissertation by evaluating its impact of the field, limitations, and future work.
Scholar Commons Citation
Williams, Evan J., "The Kinematics and Aerodynamics of Freely Flying Tiny Insects" (2025). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/11021
