Discretizing the Dragonfly Wing: Fluid Flow and Strucutral Analysis

Transport networks are ubiquitous in the world around us, from engineered infrastructure to biology. Notable examples include the xylem in plant leaves, cytoplasm transport in slime molds, and blood flow in the human body. Among biological transport networks, hemolymph flow in insect wings is of particular importance. These systems are large and complex, often containing thousands of elements, and play a vital role in both transport and mechanical rigidity. Here, I study the interplay between flow and mechanics. On the relevant scale, flow is laminar, and pressure driven, resulting in relatively simple flow dynamics for any individual edge. However, complex flow behavior emerges when the system is analyzed as a whole. Structural analysis of the wing under an aerodynamic load is also possible when the wing network is discretized in this manner. As hemolymph composes a large percentage of total wing weight, interaction between fluid flow and wing structure is potentially relevant. Through this simulation, insight is gained into the role of hemolymph flow in insect wings