Micro aerial vehicles using flapping wings are under investigation, as an alternative to fixed-wing and rotary-wing micro aerial vehicles. Such flapping-wing vehicles promise key potential advantages of high thrust, agility, and maneuverability, and have a wide range of applications. These applications include both military and commercial domains such as communication relay, search and rescue, visual reconnaissance, and field search. With the advancement in the computational sciences, developments in flapping-wing micro aerial vehicles have progressed exponentially. Such developments require a careful aerodynamic and aeroelastic design of the flapping wing. Therefore, aerodynamic tools are required to study such designs and configurations. In this paper, the role of several parameters is investigated, including the types of flapping wings, the effect of the kinematics and wing geometry (shape, configuration, and structural flexibility) on performance variables such as lift, drag, thrust, and efficiency in various modes of flight. Kinematic variables have a significant effect on the performance of the flapping wing. For instance, a high flap amplitude and pitch rotation, which supports the generation of the strong leading-edge vortex, generates higher thrust. Likewise, wing shape, configuration, and structural flexibility are shown to have a large impact on the performance of the flapping wing. The wing with optimum flexibility maximizes thrust where highly flexible wings lead to performance degradation due to change in the effective angle of attack. This study shows that the development of the flexible flapping wing with performance capabilities similar to those of natural fliers has not yet been achieved. Finally, opportunities for additional research in this field are recommended.

The abundance of air pollutants over the last few years, including the concentration of microplastics, has become an alarming concern across the world. Initially discovered in marine life, these toxic and inflammatory particles have recently been found in human lung tissues. When inhaled, these harmful particles settle down in the lung airways and, over time, lead to respiratory failures. A recent study analyzed the microplastic transport behavior in the mouth–throat airways. However, the knowledge of the microplastic migration in bifurcating tracheobronchial airways is missing in the literature. Therefore, this first-ever study analyzes in detail the transport behavior and settling patterns of microplastic particles of different sizes and shapes at different respiratory intensities in the tracheobronchial lung airways. A numerical technique based on discrete phase modeling is employed to simulate the flow of microplastic particles in a three-dimensional realistic lung geometry. The numerical model results indicate low velocity and turbulence intensity magnitudes with smooth flow in the trachea compared to the airways of left and right lobes, which experience higher velocities and generate secondary vortices. Lower lung lobes are the deposition hotspots for the harmful microplastic particles at a lower flow rate. These hotspots shift to upper lung lobes at a higher flow rate for the same particle size. Moreover, microplastic particle size and shape influence the overall deposition rate in the tracheobronchial lung airways. The results of the current study, including microplastic accumulation regions at different breathing intensities, will contribute to the updated knowledge of pollutant inhalation and facilitate relevant treatment measures.

In this paper, an attempt has been made to highlight major developments of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) in the last few decades. The effects of various design parameters such as airfoil, number of blades, solidity, aspect ratio, blade helicity, and overlap ratio have been critically analyzed. Wind energy is the most promising renewable, cost-effective, efficient, and accessible source for both domestic and commercial applications. Horizontal axis wind turbines are highly developed and are being used for medium-to-large scale power projects. VAWT are considered viable options for urban and semi-urban areas. These turbines have several characteristics, such as omnidirectional, power generation in weak and unstable winds, esthetically sound, safety, and low noise. Darrieus turbines with a fixed blade-type have starting problems at low wind speeds. Savonius turbines have good starting capability; however, their power coefficients are lower than other types of VAWT. To overcome the shortcomings of conventional wind turbines, an innovative engineering solution was sought in the design of hybrid VAWT. The analysis revealed that hybrid wind turbines have addressed the deficiencies to an extent; however, the overall performance is still less than that of conventional wind turbines. Several recommendations have been made based on state-of-the-art information from the perspective of future studies and acceptability. It was concluded that vast opportunities for wind turbine applications are available in urban areas; however, further academic research is required on critical aspects such as self-starting at low wind speeds, efficiency, structural reliability, design improvement for aerodynamic performance, and wind resource assessment.