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Biomechanics, Aerodynamics and Thermal Balance in the Flight of Hummingbirds

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
Location
2005 Mechanical Engineering Lab (Deere)
Date
Oct 18, 2019   12:00 pm  
Speaker
Professor Bret Tobalske, Biological Sciences, University of Montana Missoula
Contact
Lindsey Henson
E-Mail
lrh@illinois.edu
Phone
217-300-8238
Views
130
Originating Calendar
MechSE Seminars

Biomechanics, Aerodynamics and Thermal Balance in the Flight of Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are unique among birds in converging upon the capacity of insects for indefinite hovering and remarkable maneuvering during flight. They also are adept at forward flight and some species migrate.  I will explore the diverse aspects of their biological form and function that facilitate their prowess in flight.  The wing skeleton of hummingbirds is highly modified to maximize torque produced by the pectoralis and minimize inertial requirements for wing oscillation.  They recruit their primary flight muscles out of phase with the motion of the wings to permit rapid onset and offset of muscle force.  Their aerodynamics include the use of leading-edge vorticity on the wing, rotational circulation, and a shift in upstroke function across flight speeds.  Their escape maneuvers involve asymmetric wing movements that increase with increasing body size.  Because their mass-specific power output is extremely high, hummingbirds face challenges with heat dissipation in warm environments.  Their heat dissipation areas include the eye, base of the wing, and the feet, and the use of the feet for dissipating heat changes as a function of flight speed.  Collectively, the flight performance of hummingbirds represents an extreme with limits imposed by evolution as a vertebrate and it provides a useful model for the development of bioinspired, autonomous flying vehicles.

Tobalske:  Brief Biography

Bret Tobalske is a Professor of Organismal Biology, Ecology and Evolution in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, USA, and he is Director of the Field Research Station at Fort Missoula.   He received his PhD at the University of Montana in 1994 and pursued post-doctoral work at Harvard University.  He was on the faculty of the University of Portland in Oregon from 1999-2008 whereupon he returned to the University of Montana.  As a comparative biomechanist, he explores how the form and function of organisms has evolved in relation to the attributes of the physical world.  Most of his research explores avian flight, but he has diverse interests that are united by fundamental questions about fluid dynamics and the effects of body size including, for example, the costs and uses of sexually-selected weapons in beetles and the evolution of polar gigantism in sea spiders.

Hosts:  Professors Aimy Wissa and Mattia Gazzola 

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