Mathematical Sciences: A Computational Model of Aquatic Animal Locomotion

本研究涉及水生动物推进流体动力学的计算机建模，其中流体运动由不可压缩的Navier-Stokes方程描述，浸入的生物被视为经历时间相关运动的细丝。与以往的研究相反，没有限制雷诺数的大小，也没有限制游泳运动的幅度对其方向的依赖性。研究的具体目标包括对不同游泳模式的建模，如喷射推进和波动，以及三维运动的建模。浸泡在水中的动物的运动一直是博物学家和流体动力学家的兴趣所在，因为它们固有的美感，以及它们为我们理解在空气和水中运动的物体的流体动力学提供的见解。在这里，首席研究员将使用超级计算机的能力来模拟生物在水中游泳的行为，这些生物的身体形状、大小和速度都是前所未有的。

This research is concerned with the computer modelling of the fluid dynamics of aquatic animal propulsion, in which the fluid motion is described by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and the immersed organism is regarded as a filament undergoing time-dependent motion. In contrast to previous studies there is no restriction placed on the size of the Reynolds number or on the dependence of the amplitude of the swimming motion upon its direction. Among the specific goals of the research are the modelling of different modes of swimming such as jet propulsion and undulation and the modelling of three-dimensional motions. The motions of immersed animals in water have always been of interest to naturalists and fluid dynamicists, both for their inherent aesthetic beauty and for the insights they provide into our understanding of the fluid dynamics of bodies moving in air and water. Here the principal investigator will use the power of a supercomputer to model the behavior of organisms swimming in water over a range of body shapes and sizes and speeds that has not been attempted before.