Nature-Inspired Inventions · Volume 002
Eagles
Articulated and Adaptive Wings
Watch an eagle for a few minutes and you will see a wing that never holds still. Circling in a thermal, the wings are spread wide, the primary feathers fanned like fingers at the tips. Gliding between thermals, the wrists bend and the wings sweep back slightly. Diving on prey, the wings fold close to the body until the bird is a streamlined teardrop. Landing, the wings open fully, the tail spreads, the alula lifts and the feet swing forward.
- Price
- $6.99
- Format
- PDF ebook
- Length
- 42 pages
- Edition
- First Edition
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Inside this volume
- Introduction: The Wing That Changes Shape
- How Eagles Use Their Wings
- The Anatomy of Shape Change
- The Aerodynamics of Shape Change
- A History of Variable-Geometry Wings
- Translating Eagle Wings Into Engineering
- Mechanisms, Materials and Structures
- Control of Adaptive Wings
- Ten Eagle-Inspired Design Concepts
- Prototyping and Testing Adaptive Wings
- Failure Modes and Limitations
- Approval, Intellectual Property and Market
- Design Workbook
- Case Study — Does a Folding Wing Pay Off?
Plus appendices of formulas and rules of thumb, common reader questions, a glossary and further reading.
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