Category
3MT - Three Minute Thesis
Description
The skin of dolphins, along with other aquatic creatures such as sharks, has been long studied for its drag-reducing flow properties. The theorized behavior of flow over dolphin skin involves the trapping of fluid within the sinusoidal grooves of the skin mesh. This trapping mechanism energizes the flow, producing vortices and a partial slip condition on the skin surface, reducing boundary layer separation, and enhancing streamlines. Amy Lang et. al from the University of Alabama have investigated this phenomenon by constructing a physical demonstration and collecting experimental data of specified flow parameters for a “no-skin” control and “skin” case. Through the use of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, Liberty University’s FLUID Research Group will corroborate this prior data by constructing an accurate model of the demonstration. Within the model, an adverse pressure gradient was induced by a rotating cylinder above the skin, and specified upstream turbulent flow parameters were programmed and implemented as User-Defined Functions to resemble realistic flow boundary conditions over the body of the dolphin. Simulations were first conducted for the “no-skin” model and compared to the data of Lang et. al before moving forward with the “skin” model, which incorporates the sinusoidal grooves. The resulting mathematical CFD models seeks to validate the observed phenomena of dolphins, thereby expanding knowledge and serving as a predictive model to further realize biomimetic hydrodynamic applications.
Dolphin Skin CFD Analysis for Biomimetic and Hydrodynamic Applications
3MT - Three Minute Thesis
The skin of dolphins, along with other aquatic creatures such as sharks, has been long studied for its drag-reducing flow properties. The theorized behavior of flow over dolphin skin involves the trapping of fluid within the sinusoidal grooves of the skin mesh. This trapping mechanism energizes the flow, producing vortices and a partial slip condition on the skin surface, reducing boundary layer separation, and enhancing streamlines. Amy Lang et. al from the University of Alabama have investigated this phenomenon by constructing a physical demonstration and collecting experimental data of specified flow parameters for a “no-skin” control and “skin” case. Through the use of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, Liberty University’s FLUID Research Group will corroborate this prior data by constructing an accurate model of the demonstration. Within the model, an adverse pressure gradient was induced by a rotating cylinder above the skin, and specified upstream turbulent flow parameters were programmed and implemented as User-Defined Functions to resemble realistic flow boundary conditions over the body of the dolphin. Simulations were first conducted for the “no-skin” model and compared to the data of Lang et. al before moving forward with the “skin” model, which incorporates the sinusoidal grooves. The resulting mathematical CFD models seeks to validate the observed phenomena of dolphins, thereby expanding knowledge and serving as a predictive model to further realize biomimetic hydrodynamic applications.
Comments
Undergraduate - 1st Place & Peoples' Choice Award Winner