Experimental and numerical study of the flight of geese

Dimitriadis, G; Gardiner, JD; Tickle, P; Codd, J; Nudds, R

Abstract

The flight of barnacle geese at airspeeds representing high-speed migrating flight is investigated using experiments and simulations. The experimental part of the work involved the filming of three barnacle geese (Branta Leucopsis) flying at different airspeeds in a wind tunnel. The video footage was analysed in order to extract the wing kinematics. Additional information, such as wing geometry and camber was obtained from a 3D scan of a dried wing. An unsteady vortex lattice method was used to simulate the aerodynamics of the measured flapping motion. The simulations were used in order to successfully reproduce the measured body motion and thus obtain estimates of the aerodynamic forces acting on the wings. It was found that the mean of the wing pitch angle variation with time has the most significant effect on lift while the difference in the durations of the upstroke and downstroke has the major effect on thrust. The power consumed by the aerodynamic
forces was also estimated; it was found that increases in aerodynamic power correspond very closely to climbing motion and vice versa. Root-mean-square values of the power range from 100W to 240W. Finally, it was observed that tandem flying can be very expensive for the trailing bird.

Citation

Dimitriadis, G., Gardiner, J., Tickle, P., Codd, J., & Nudds, R. (2015). Experimental and numerical study of the flight of geese. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0001924000010939

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 22, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Dec 16, 2015
• Journal: The Aeronautical Journal
• Volume: 119
• Issue: 1217
• Pages: 803-832
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0001924000010939
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0001924000010939
• Related Public URLs: http://www.aerosociety.com/News/Publications/Aero-Journal
• Additional Information: Funders : Biotechnology and Biosciences Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)