|
|
|
| News |
| National Center for Computational Sciences |
| System Models Hummingbird Flight |
| Hummingbirds, despite their small size, may be the key to big advances in aerial surveillance technology. "The mechanisms these animals employ to sustain flight do not seem to follow traditional aerodynamic theory and practice," said Andrew Johnson of Digital Rocket Science, who recently used the Phoenix supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) to model and better understand the hummingbird's flight. One potential application of this research is the more efficient design of micro air vehicles, tiny machines that could mimic hummingbirds to provide military and police units with improved surveillance and reconnaissance. |
Johnson is comparing his hummingbird flight simulations with experimental data gathered from collaborators at Oregon State University (Doug Warrick) and the University of Portland (Bret Tobalske). "The results achieved from simulation are more comprehensive," said Johnson, adding that researchers can "plug in different wing types, frequencies, maneuvers, etcetera." He used approximately 10,000 hours on the Cray X1E Phoenix to do just that. The end product: a series of movies that show air pressure on the top and bottom of the hummingbird wing, computed lift-and-drag curves, and animations of cross-section velocity vectors at various locations.
|
