Modelling of soldier fly halteres for gyroscopic oscillations

Parween, Rizuwana and Pratap, Rudra (2015) Modelling of soldier fly halteres for gyroscopic oscillations. In: BIOLOGY OPEN, 4 (2). pp. 137-145.

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Abstract

Nature has evolved a beautiful design for small-scale vibratory rategyro in the form of dipteran halteres that detect body rotations via Coriolis acceleration. In most Diptera, including soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, halteres are a pair of special organs, located in the space between the thorax and the abdomen. The halteres along with their connecting joint with the fly's body constitute a mechanism that is used for muscle-actuated oscillations of the halteres along the actuation direction. These oscillations lead to bending vibrations in the sensing direction (out of the haltere's actuation plane) upon any impressed rotation due to the resulting Coriolis force. This induced vibration is sensed by the sensory organs at the base of the haltere in order to determine the rate of rotation. In this study, we evaluate the boundary conditions and the stiffness of the anesthetized halteres along the actuation and the sensing direction. We take several cross-sectional SEM (scanning electron microscope) images of the soldier fly haltere and construct its three dimensional model to get the mass properties. Based on these measurements, we estimate the natural frequency along both actuation and sensing directions, propose a finite element model of the haltere's joint mechanism, and discuss the significance of the haltere's asymmetric cross-section. The estimated natural frequency along the actuation direction is within the range of the haltere's flapping frequency. However, the natural frequency along the sensing direction is roughly double the haltere's flapping frequency that provides a large bandwidth for sensing the rate of rotation to the soldier flies.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	BIOLOGY OPEN
Publisher:	COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD, BIDDER BUILDING CAMBRIDGE COMMERCIAL PARK COWLEY RD, CAMBRIDGE CB4 4DL, CAMBS, ENGLAND
Keywords:	Reconstruction of the haltere model; haltere torsional stiffness; haltere bending stiffness; haltere boundary condition; Numerical model of the haltere hinge mechanism
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Mechanical Engineering
Date Deposited:	01 Apr 2015 12:09
Last Modified:	01 Apr 2015 12:09
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/51133

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