Wings

The aircraft design over time from the classical design approach to modern computer-based design method utilizing multivariate design optimization. In recent trend, aircraft concepts and configurations have become more diverse and complex thus pushing many synthesis packages beyond their capability. Many aircraft design uses software for structural and fluid analysis, particular concept and thus it required the separate packages for each concept. The aim of this project is to conceptualize and design an aircraft by applying the knowledge of aerodynamics, flight mechanics and other domains of aerospace engineering. This report provides the data of preliminary and detailed design of wings, fuselage, tail geometry, landing gear, wing loading, thrust loading and detailed estimation of a drag force for a 40 seat passenger aircraft. This conceptual design small capacity aircraft, the designed aircraft cruises at 10 km altitude with a speed of 492.48 km/h and has maximum safe air range of 1733 km. The takeoff distance obtained is 868 m, which makes the aircraft most feasible to run on airports with shorter runways. The detail estimation of drag force is calculated at cruise, takeoff and landing. An iterative approach method is carried out for conducting the initial project design process. Initial 'guesses' based upon on data from similar types of aircraft forms the starting point for the analysis. The iterative process progressively determines more accurate and 'acceptable' output which refines the design.

The present study emphasizes on interaction between the lifting structure and the fluid flow i.e. submerged flow a wing results in various dynamic phenomenal changes. The traditional analysis of a flow field around a finite wing assumes that the lifting body is rigid and doesn't experience any deformation. This study utilizes fluid structure interaction principles to compute and define the structural stability of the modern aircraft wings namely Cessna 172, Boeing 737 and Glaser-dirks dg-808 glider. The above aircrafts have been considered due to their unique wing design and diversified characteristics. The study has been conducted using the commercial software ANSYS Inc. and the results will be presented based on Fluid Structure Interaction in the context of aerodynamic behaviour of the wing.

In this study, we compare and analyze different ant taxa hindwing morphologies with phylogenetic hypotheses of the Family Formicidae (Hymenoptera). The hindwings are classified into three Typologies based on progressive veins reduction. This analysis follows a revision of the hindwing morphology in 291 extant and eight fossil genera. The distribution of different Typologies was analyzed in the two Clades: Formicoid and Poneroid. The results show a different distribution of Typologies, with a higher genera percentage of hindwings of Typology I in the Clade Poneroid. A further analysis, based on genetic affinities, was performed by dividing the Clades into Subclades, showing a constant presence of hindwings of Typology I in almost all the Subclades, albeit with a different percentage. The presence of hindwings of Typology I (hypothesized as more ancestral) in the Subclades, indicates the genera that could be morphologically more similar to their ancestral ones. This study represents the first revision of the ants' hindwings, showing an overview of the distribution of different Typologies.

The goal of my work is a dichotomous key to the identification of ♂♂ winged ants and an analysis of the periodicity of the flight mating. This study is based on 260 genera  belonging to all the 17 subfamilies currently present in the World of the Formicidae family.
I presented an study and classification of the forewings of the ♂♂ ants divided into four Typologies and I classify the hindwings in three Typologies. In this study, I deepen the morphology aspects of the forewings and hindwings of ♂♂ ants, which represent the main characteristic on which my dichotomous key is written. www.wingedant.com

In the ants colonies of most species, the mating flight is carried out once or several times during the year, depending on the reproductive strategy and the environmental characteristics. Winged females and males ants, after leaving the nest, are subject to dangers posed by adverse climatic conditions and predators. Therefore, the species of ants have developed, in the course of their evolution, different mating flight strategies to avoid these dangers and synchronize flight with other colonies, so that individuals of the opposite sex have greater opportunity to meet.
The process of urbanization fragment, degrade and isolates natural areas, depending on the density and urban and economic development form, by generating different profiles of urban landscapes. The objective of this study is to understand whether the environmental conditions, generated by different urbanization profiles, influence the mating flight of ants.
Winged ants were captured daily over a two year period at two urban sites in the city of São Paulo, using light traps. Approximately 113,000 individuals were captured and assigned to eight subfamilies and 44 genera. At São Paulo city, in January, I recorded the largest number of ant genera in mating flight, probably associated with the maximum mean temperature values and the rainfall. The periodicity analysis of mating flight at subfamily and genera level shows different patterns between the two urban sites.
I hypothesize that the trophic structure of ant communities reflects the dynamics of the trophic availability in different urban microhabitats showing, as a result, plasticity in the mating flight periodicity.

Authors:    O. V. Shatkovska, M. Ghazali

The aim of this work is to estimate the relationship between developmental mode and flight style, body mass and wing morphology of birds. We revealed high evolutionary correlation between developmental mode and flight style of birds. Different developmental modes, as well as flight styles, repeatedly appeared in birds’ evolution. Precocial birds are associated with continuous-flapping flight. Small altricial birds mostly use passerine-type flight. Soaring birds are large and have an intermediate developmental mode. Developmental strategies and flight styles correlate with differences in body mass and traits of wing morphology (wingspan, wing area, humerus, ulna, manus, and primary feather lengths). Nevertheless, by comparing results of phylogenetic and standard discriminant function analyses, we reveal that phylogeny strongly affects the morphology of wing traits and body mass in birds. When using phylogenetic t-tests, we did not find an association between relative length of wing elements and different developmental mode and flight style groups, except altricial birds with flapping and gliding flight style (Apodidae, Hirundinidae).

In this study, we compare and analyze different ant taxa hindwing morphologies with phylogenetic hypotheses of the Family Formicidae (Hymenoptera). The hindwings are classified into three Typologies based on progressive veins reduction. This analysis follows a revision of the hindwing morphology in 291 extant and eight fossil genera. The distribution of different Typologies was analyzed in the two Clades: Formicoid and Poneroid. The results show a different distribution of Typologies, with a higher genera percentage of hindwings of Typology I in the Clade Poneroid. A further analysis, based on genetic affinities, was performed by dividing the Clades into Subclades, showing a constant presence of hindwings of Typology I in almost all the Subclades, albeit with a different percentage. The presence of hindwings of Typology I (hypothesized as more ancestral) in the Subclades, indicates the genera that could be morphologically more similar to their ancestral ones. This study represents t...