Meeting Abstract

80-4  Sunday, Jan. 6 08:45 – 09:00  How Aquatic Animals Jump Out of Water CHANG, B*; MYOUNG, J; VIROT, E; CLANET, C; KIM, H.-Y.; JUNG, S; Virginia Tech; Seoul National University; Harvard University; LadHyX; Seoul National University; Virginia Tech, Cornell University bchang5@vt.edu

Many aquatic animals jump out of water to hunt or escape predators. In this study, we investigate the physical conditions required for animals to leap out of water. The animals analyzed ranged from 10^-3 to 10¹ meters in size. We find that the normalized jumping height, H/L, scales with animal length as H/L~L^-1/3. We elucidate this behavior by balancing power produced by the animal with drag-induced dissipation. Simplified experiments were conducted with axisymmetric bodies and a bio-inspired robot, which show some effect due to entrained fluid mass. We find that larger ratios of body mass to entrained fluid mass will allow jumping heights in a similar range as animals.