Bioinspired fluid-structure interaction: from winged seeds to flapping wings

In recent years, there has been growing interest in developing bioinspired devices that mimic the efficient flight mechanisms of birds and insects, the swimming techniques of fish, or the autorotating seed dispersal strategies of certain trees. However, our understanding of the underlying physical mechanisms remains limited, and most current devices lack the efficiency and maneuverability of their natural counterparts. The motion of insects, birds, or fish can be described as a fluid-structure interaction problem, in which one or more deformable bodies are immersed in a fluid. The dynamics of the bodies are a direct result of their hydrodynamic interaction with the surrounding fluid, which is driven by their deformation (active or passive). Consequently, the resulting problem is highly non-linear, consisting of the coupling between the equations of fluid motion and the equations of motion of the bodies. Moreover, these bodies are usually geometrically complex: they may have mobile appendages and/or they may be deformable and subject to large deformations. This geometrical variability and complexity pose additional challenges when modeling these kinds of problems, as the fluid-solid interface changes with time. In this talk, we will discuss how numerical simulations can contribute to progress in the field, with examples from our recent work on winged seeds and flapping wings.