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SUMMARY:Hydrodynamics of an elastic swimmer at low Reynolds number - Alexe
 ev\, A (Georgia Institute of Technology)
DTSTART:20130627T104500Z
DTEND:20130627T113000Z
UID:TALK45938@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mustapha Amrani
DESCRIPTION:We use fully-coupled three-dimensional computer simulations to
  examine the hydrodynamics of an elastic swimmer that swims in a viscous N
 ewtonian fluid\, and to probe how elasticity and resonance oscillations ca
 n be harnessed for efficient locomotion in a low-Reynolds-number environme
 nt. Our simulation approach is based on the lattice Boltzmann method. The 
 swimmer is modeled as a rectangular elastic plate. We examine two types of
  swimmer actuation. In the first case\, the elastic swimmer is actuated by
  imposing sinusoidal oscillations at its root. We also examine internally 
 actuated swimmers that are driven by time varying internal moment producin
 g swimmer bending. We probe the hydrodynamic forces and fluid structures g
 enerated by the swimmers and compare different actuation regimes. In parti
 cular\, we show that the resonance actuation leads by the fastest swimmer 
 propulsion velocity. This fast swimming\, however\, is inefficient\, where
 as an efficient swimming can be obtained for o ff-resonance frequencies. F
 urthermore\, we compare our simulations of internally actuated swimmers wi
 th the experimental results for swimmers made of piezoelectric macro-fiber
  composites. The results are useful for designing efficient self-propellin
 g fish-like robots driven by internally powered fins\n
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Newton Institute
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