Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: doi:10.22028/D291-29472
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Title: Scaling of bird wings and feathers for efficient flight
Author(s): Sullivan, T. N.
Meyers, Marc A.
Arzt, Eduard
Language: English
Title: Science advances
Volume: 5
Issue: 1
Publisher/Platform: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Year of Publication: 2019
Publikation type: Journal Article
Abstract: Aves are an incredibly diverse class of animals, ranging greatly in size and thriving in a wide variety of environments. Here, we explore the scaling trends of bird wings in connection with their flight performance. The tensile strength of avian bone is hypothesized to be a limiting factor in scaling the humerus with mass, which is corroborated by its experimentally determined allometric scaling trend. We provide a mechanics analysis that explains the scaling allometry of the wing humerus length, LH, with body weight W, LH ∝ W0.44. Lastly, wing feathers are demonstrated to generally scale isometrically with bird mass, with the exception of the spacing between barbules, which falls within the same range for birds of all masses. Our findings provide insight into the "design" of birds and may be translatable to more efficient bird-inspired aircraft structures.
DOI of the first publication: 10.1126/sciadv.aat4269
Link to this record: hdl:20.500.11880/28158
http://dx.doi.org/10.22028/D291-29472
ISSN: 2375-2548
Date of registration: 21-Oct-2019
Faculty: NT - Naturwissenschaftlich- Technische Fakultät
Department: NT - Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik
Professorship: NT - Prof. Dr. Eduard Arzt
Collections:SciDok - Der Wissenschaftsserver der Universität des Saarlandes

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