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Computational modelling and analysis of the hydrodynamics of a highly deformable fish pectoral fin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2010

H. DONG ,
M. BOZKURTTAS ,
R. MITTAL ,
P. MADDEN  and
G. V. LAUDER
H. DONG
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University 801 22nd St. NW, Washington DC 20052, USA
M. BOZKURTTAS
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University 801 22nd St. NW, Washington DC 20052, USA
R. MITTAL*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University 801 22nd St. NW, Washington DC 20052, USA
P. MADDEN
Affiliation:
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
G. V. LAUDER
Affiliation:
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
*
‡Present address: 126 Latrobe Hall, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-2686, USA. Email address for correspondence: mittal@jhu.edu
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Abstract

Numerical simulations are used to investigate the flow associated with a bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) pectoral fin during steady forward motion. The simulations are intended to match the experiments of Lauder et al. (Bioinsp. Biomim., vol. 1, 2006, p. S25), and the results obtained from the simulations complement the experimental analysis. The focus of the current paper is on the quantitative characterization of the propulsive performance of the pectoral fin, which undergoes significant deformation during its stroke. This includes a detailed analysis of the thrust production mechanisms as well as their connection to the vortex dynamics and other flow features. The simulations indicate that the fish fin produces high propulsive performance by employing a complex fin gait driven by active and passive fin deformation. By connecting the vortex dynamics and fin kinematics with the surface distribution of the force on the fin, it is found that during abduction, the fin moves such that the tip of the fin undergoes a complex, three-dimensional flapping motion that produces a strong and long-lasting, attached tip vortex. This tip vortex is associated with most of the thrust production during the abduction phase of the stroke. During the adduction phase, the fin motion is similar to a ‘paddling’ stroke. Comparisons are made with rigid flapping foils to provide insights into the remarkable performance of the fish fin and to interpret the force production from the viewpoint of functional morphology.

JFM classification

Biological Fluid Dynamics: Swimming/flying Vortex Flows: Vortex shedding
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 645 , 25 February 2010 , pp. 345 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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Footnotes

†

Present address: 126 Russ Center, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435, USA.

References

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Dong et al. supplementary movie

Movie 1. Motion of the sunfish pectoral fin during the fin-beat cycle in steady forward locomotion.

Download Dong et al. supplementary movie(Video)
Video 4.4 MB

Dong et al. supplementary movie

Movie 2. Vortex structures formed by the fin motion during the fin-beat cycle in steady forward locomotion. The vortex structures are identified by plotting the iso-surface of the magnitude of the imaginary part of the complex eigenvalue of the velocity deformation tensor.

Download Dong et al. supplementary movie(Video)
Video 2.7 MB