Numerical Study of Flow Past a Wall-Mounted Dolphin Dorsal Fin at Low Reynolds Numbers
| Autor: | Lin, Zhonglu, Gao, An-Kang, Zhang, Yu |
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| Rok vydání: | 2024 |
| Předmět: | |
| Druh dokumentu: | Working Paper |
| Popis: | Dolphin swimming has been a captivating area of study, yet the hydrodynamics of the dorsal fin remain underexplored. In this study, we present three-dimensional simulations of flow around a wall-mounted dolphin dorsal fin, derived from a real dolphin scan. The NEK5000 (spectral element method) is employed with a second-order hex20 mesh to ensure high accuracy and computational efficiency in the simulations. A total of 13 cases were simulated, covering angles of attack (AoA) ranging from $0^\circ$ to $60^\circ$ and Reynolds numbers ($\text{Re}$) between 691 and 2000. Our results show that both drag and lift increase significantly with the AoA. Almost no vortex is observed at $\text{AoA} = 0^\circ$, whereas complex vortex structures emerge for $\text{AoA} \geq 30^\circ$, including half-horseshoe, hairpin, arch, and wake vortices. This study offers insights that could inform the design of next-generation underwater robots, heat exchangers, and submarine sails. Comment: 18 pages |
| Databáze: | arXiv |
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