TITLE:
Numerical Study on the Two-Dimensional Self-Propulsion of a Hydrofoil
AUTHORS:
Yusheng Liu, Tao Zhou, Xingjian Lin
KEYWORDS:
Fish Swimming, Fluid Simulation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics,
Vol.13 No.4,
April
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: The underlying mechanisms driving the efficient propulsion of fish remain incompletely understood. In this study, fish is simplified as hydrofoil with two degrees of freedom in two-dimensional flow, the effects of flapping frequency and wavelength on propulsion performance of a hydrofoil are numerically studied. It is found that the propulsion velocity increases monotonically with the rise of frequency, while it varies non-linearly with wavelength variation. However, the efficiency demonstrates contrasting trends—increasing monotonically with frequency elevation while decreasing progressively with wavelength extension. Notably, optimal performance is achieved at a flapping frequency of
f
= 2 and wavelength λ = 1.5. The results here may shed some lights on the understanding of the efficient swimming of fish.