Where is the rudder of a fish?:the mechanism of swimming and control of self-propelled fish school

Numerical simulation and control of self- propelled swimming of two- and three-dimensional biomimetic fish school in a viscous flow are investigated. With a parallel computational fluid dynamics package for the two- and three-dimensional moving boundary problem, which combines the adaptive multi-grid finite volume method and the methods of immersed boundary and volume of fluid, it is found that due to the interactions of vortices in the wakes, without proper control, a fish school swim with a given flap- ping rule can not keep the fixed shape of a queue. In order to understand the secret of fish swimming, a new feedback con- trol strategy of fish motion is proposed for the first time, i,e., the locomotion speed is adjusted by the flapping frequency of the caudal, and the direction of swimming is controlled by the swinging of the head of a fish. Results show that with this feedback control strategy, a fish school can keep the good order of a queue in cruising, turning or swimming around circles. This new control strategy, which separates the speed control and direction control, is important in the construction of biomimetic robot fish, with which it greatly simplifies the control devices of a biomimetic robot fish.

Numerical analysis of the interaction of 3D compressible bubble clusters

Based on the bubble dynamic theory and the compressible two-phase flow solver of the open source software OpenFOAM, a numerical simulation study is carried out on the interactions of bubble clusters in a closed volume. The bubble dynamics and interactions of a single bubble, two bubbles, and four bubbles are investigated under the working conditions without and with the presence of a free surface. Through a parametric study, the qualitative patterns of the variations of the bubble collapse period, the volume compressibility, the bubble pressure peak value, and the breakdown, fusion, and separation phenomena with the parameters such as the bubble pressure, the radius size, the bubble spacing, and the distance from the free surface are obtained. The main factors affecting the bubble morphology and the dynamic characteristics are summarized from numerous parameter experiments. It is shown that, in the absence of a free surface, the main factors are the relative size of the bubbles, the pressure of the liquid, and the pressure differences among the bubbles, while in the presence of a free surface, the main factor is the pressure of the liquid between the upper surface of the bubble and the free surface.

Numerical simulations of sloshing and suppressing sloshing using the optimization technology method

Sloshing is a common phenomenon in nature and industry, and it is important in many fields, such as marine engineering and aerospace engineering. To reduce the sloshing load on the side walls, the topology optimization and optimal control methods are used to design the shape of the board, which is fixed in the middle of the tank. The results show that the new board shape, which is designed via topology optimization, can significantly reduce the sloshing load on the side wall.

Numerical investigation of dynamical behavior of tethered rigid spheres in supersonic flow

The dynamical behavior of two tethered rigid spheres in a supersonic flow is numerically investigated. The tethered lengths and radius ratios of the two spheres are different. The two spheres, which are centroid axially aligned initially, are held stationary first, then released, and subsequently let fly freely in a supersonic flow. The mean qualities of the system and the qualities of the bigger sphere are considered and compared with the situations without the tether. In the separation process, six types of motion caused by the spheres, tether, and fluid interaction are found. The results show that the mean x-velocity of the system changes in a different manner for different radius ratios, and the x-velocity of the bigger sphere is uniformly reduced but through different mechanisms.

A study of a supersonic capsule/rigid disk-gap-band parachute system using large-eddy simulation

The aerodynamic performances and flow features of the capsule/rigid disk-gap-band(DGB)parachute system from the Mach number 1.8 to 2.2 are studied.We use the adaptive mesh refinement(AMR),the hybrid tuned center-difference and weighted essentially non-oscillatory(TCD-WENO)scheme,and the large-eddy simulation(LES)with the stretched-vortex subgrid model.The simulations reproduce complex interaction of the flow structures,including turbulent wakes and bow shocks,as well as bow shocks and expansion waves.The results show that the calculated aerodynamic drag coefficient agrees well with the previou simulation.Both the aerodynamic drag coefficient and the aerodynamic drag oscillation of the parachute system decrease with the increase of the initial Mach number of the fluid.It is found that the position and angle of the bow shock ahead of the canopy change as the Mach number increases,which makes the flow inside the canopy and the turbulent wake behind the canopy more complex and unstable.

Optimal dynamical systems of Navier-Stokes equations based on generalized helical-wave bases and the fundamental elements of turbulence

In this paper, we present the theory of constructing optimal generalized helical-wave coupling dynamical systems. Applying the helical-wave decomposition method to Navier-Stokes equations, we derive a pair of coupling dynamical systems based on optimal generalized helical-wave bases. Then with the method of multi-scale global optimization based on coarse graining analysis, a set of global optimal generalized helical-wave bases is obtained. Optimal generalized helical-wave bases retain the good properties of classical helical-wave bases. Moreover, they are optimal for the dynamical systems of Navier-Stokes equations, and suitable for complex physical and geometric boundary conditions. Then we find that the optimal generalized helical-wave vortexes fitted by a finite number of optimal generalized helical-wave bases can be used as the fundamental elements of turbulence, and have important significance for studying physical properties of complex flows and turbulent vortex structures in a deeper level.

Research on the optimal dynamical systems of three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations based on weighted residual

In this paper, the theory of constructing optimal dynamical systems based on weighted residual presented by Wu & Sha is applied to three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, and the optimal dynamical system modeling equations are derived. Then the multiscale global optimization method based on coarse graining analysis is presented, by which a set of approximate global optimal bases is directly obtained from Navier-Stokes equations and the construction of optimal dynamical systems is realized. The optimal bases show good properties, such as showing the physical properties of complex flows and the turbulent vortex structures, being intrinsic to real physical problem and dynamical systems, and having scaling symmetry in mathematics, etc.. In conclusion, using fewer terms of optimal bases will approach the exact solutions of Navier-Stokes equations, and the dynamical systems based on them show the most optimal behavior.

Influence of wall motion on particle sedimentation using hybrid LB-IBM scheme

We integrate the lattice Boltzmann method(LBM) and immersed boundary method(IBM) to capture the coupling between a rigid boundary surface and the hydrodynamic response of an enclosed particle laden fluid. We focus on a rigid box filled with a Newtonian fluid where the drag force based on the slip velocity at the wall and settling particles induces the interaction. We impose an external harmonic oscillation on the system boundary and found interesting results in the sedimentation behavior. Our results reveal that the sedimentation and particle locations are sensitive to the boundary walls oscillation amplitude and the subsequent changes on the enclosed flow field. Two different particle distribution analyses were performed and showed the presence of an agglomerate structure of particles. Despite the increase in the amplitude of wall motion, the turbulence level of the flow field and distribution of particles are found to be less in quantity compared to the stationary walls. The integrated LBM-IBM methodology promised the prospect of an efficient and accurate dynamic coupling between a non-compliant bounding surface and flow field in a wide-range of systems. Understanding the dynamics of the fluid-filled box can be particularly important in a simulation of particle deposition within biological systems and other engineering applications.

Topology Optimization of the Caudal Fin of the Three-Dimensional Self-Propelled Swimming Fish

Based on the boundary vorticity-flux theory,topology optimization of the caudal fin of the three-dimensional self-propelled swimming fish is investigated by combining unsteady computational fluid dynamics with moving boundary and topology optimization algorithms in this study.The objective functional of topology optimization is the function of swimming efficiency,swimming speed and motion direction control.The optimal caudal fin,whose topology is different from that of the natural fish caudal fin,make the 3D bionic fish achieve higher swimming efficiency,faster swimming speed and better maneuverability.The boundary vorticity-flux on the body surface of the 3D fish before and after optimization reveals the mechanism of high performance swimming of the topology optimization bionic fish.The comparative analysis between the swimming performance of the 3D topology optimization bionic fish and the 3D lunate tail bionic fish is also carried out,and the wake structures of two types of bionic fish show the physical nature that the swimming performance of the 3D topology optimization bionic fish is significantly better than the 3D lunate tail bionic fish.

A Novel Low-Dimensional Method for Analytically Solving Partial Differential Equations

This paper is concerned with a low-dimensional dynamical system model for analytically solving partial differential equations(PDEs).The model proposed is based on a posterior optimal truncated weighted residue(POT-WR)method,by which an infinite dimensional PDE is optimally truncated and analytically solved in required condition of accuracy.To end that,a POT-WR condition for PDE under consideration is used as a dynamically optimal control criterion with the solving process.A set of bases needs to be constructed without any reference database in order to establish a space to describe low-dimensional dynamical system that is required.The Lagrangian multiplier is introduced to release the constraints due to the Galerkin projection,and a penalty function is also employed to remove the orthogonal constraints.According to the extreme principle,a set of ordinary differential equations is thus obtained by taking the variational operation of the generalized optimal function.A conjugate gradient algorithm by FORTRAN code is developed to solve the ordinary differential equations.The two examples of one-dimensional heat transfer equation and nonlinear Burgers’equation show that the analytical results on the method proposed are good agreement with the numerical simulations and analytical solutions in references,and the dominant characteristics of the dynamics are well captured in case of few bases used only.

Unsteady analysis of six-DOF motion of a 6:1 prolate spheroid in viscous fluid

Free-moving simulations of airplanes, submarines and other automobiles under extreme and emergency conditions are becoming increasingly important from operational and tactical perspectives. Such simulations are fairly challenging due to the extreme unsteady motions and high Re(Reynolds) numbers. The aim of this study is to perform a six-DOF motion simulation of a 6:1prolate spheroid that is falling in a fluid field. Prior to conducting the six-DOF simulation, some verification simulations were performed. First, a laminar flow past an inclined prolate spheroid at a Re number of 1000 and incidence angle of 45. with a tetrahedral mesh was simulated to verify the relevant targeted discrete method for an unstructured mesh. Second, to verify the LES(large eddy simulation) models and dependent parameters for the DDES(delayed detached eddy simulation), a turbulent flow past a sphere was performed at a subcritical Re number of 10000. Third, a steady maneuvering problem about a prolate spheroid pitching up from 0. to 30. incidence at a uniform angular velocity was established based on a dynamic tetrahedral mesh with changing topology and the ALE(arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) method of fluid-structure coupling at a Re number of 4.2 × 10~6.Finally, two six-DOF motions of an inclined 6:1 prolate spheroid at an initial incidence of 45. were simulated at different Re numbers of 10000 and 4.2 × 10~6.