Meeting Abstract

62-2  Sunday, Jan. 5 13:45 – 14:00  Effects of Peduncle Stiffness on Propulsive Performance of Tuna-shaped Panel ZHU, R*; MATTHEWS, DG; WANG, J; LAUDER, GV; DONG, H; BART-SMITH, H; University of Virginia; Harvard University; University of Virginia; Harvard University; University of Virginia; University of Virginia rz6eg@virginia.edu

Peduncle joint is an essential part of tuna swimming. Here we propose a simplified panel model to study the effects of peduncle joint stiffness on swimming performance. We use composite 3d-printed structure to vary the stiffness around the peduncle region and measure the thrust and power consumption at a wide range of swimming kinematics with different frequency and heave amplitude. Flow structure around the panel in high-performance cases is also visualized using Particle Image Velocimetry and Computational Fluid Dynamics.