Modeling the cambering of the flapping wings of an insect using rectangular shell finite elements

Cambering in the flapping wings of insects plays an important role in the aerodynamic performance of their flight. In a previous study, the authors proposed a wing model using shell finite elements to elucidate the mechanism of cambering. However, the analysis of a strongly coupled fluid–structure system using this model would be quite computationally expensive because of the necessity of robust mesh-moving techniques. Therefore, in this study, a new wing model using rectangular shell finite elements is proposed. In the proposed model, the veins and membranes are described as pseudo-elastic materials. The cambering of the proposed model is investigated by comparison with the previous model.