Optimal Swimming Modes of a Homo-Sapien Performing Butterfly-Stroke Kick

Author(s):  
Mark W. Pitman ◽  
Anthony D. Lucey

This paper outlines the development and application of a computational method that finds the most efficient two-dimensional swimming mode of a human performing fully submerged butterfly-stroke kick at high Reynolds number. The optimal solution of this non-linear problem is found using a Genetic Algorithm (GA) search method where possible solutions compete in a ‘survival of the fittest’ scheme to ‘breed’ the optimal solution. The swimming is modelled using Discrete Vortex Method (DVM) and Boundary Element Method (BEM) computational techniques. The BEM solves for the inviscid flow field around the two-dimensional body while the shedding of vorticies from joints where the curvature is high (ie. knee, waist and ankle joints) generate the vortex structures necessary for propulsion. The motion of the limbs is characterised by a displacement function which includes the possibility for simple harmonic or non-harmonic motion with a ‘rest’ period in the kick. The finite number of joints means that a finite length parameter set can be developed which characterises the motion of the swimming body. This parameter set is fed into the GA to perform the optimisation based on a scoring function. In this case, the scoring function is simply the distance that the body swims in a set amount of time. The objective of the GA is to maximise this score for a set kicking frequency. This method opens a wider possibility for optimisation of a variety of systems that involve fluid-structure interactions, particulary the possibility of optimisation in the non-linear regime of prescribed motion coupled with compliant surfaces (such as rubbery flippers) that could further increase efficiency.

Author(s):  
Toshiki Kamiya ◽  
Ryo Onishi ◽  
Sachiko Kodera ◽  
Akimasa Hirata

Ambient conditions may change rapidly and notably over time in urban areas. Conventional indices, such as the heat index and wet bulb globe temperature, are useful only in stationary ambient conditions. To estimate the risks of heat-related illness, human thermophysiological responses should be followed for ambient conditions in the time domain. We develop a computational method for estimating the time course of core temperature and water loss by combining micrometeorology and human thermal response. We firstly utilize an urban micrometeorology prediction to reproduce the environment surrounding walkers. The temperature elevations and sweating in a standard adult and child are then estimated for meteorological conditions. With the integrated computational method, we estimate the body temperature and thermophysiological responses for an adult and child walking along a street with two routes (sunny and shaded) in Tokyo on 7 August 2015. The difference in the core temperature elevation in the adult between the two routes was 0.11 °C, suggesting the necessity for a micrometeorology simulation. The differences in the computed body core temperatures and water loss of the adult and child were notable, and were mainly characterized by the surface area-to-mass ratio. The computational techniques will be useful for the selection of actions to manage the risk of heat-related illness and for thermal comfort.


This paper gives an approach to two-dimensional isotropic elastic theory (plane strain and generalized plane stress) by means of the complex variable resulting in a very marked economy of effort in the investigation of such problems as contrasted with the usual method by means of Airy’s stress function and the allied displacement function. This is effected (i) by considering especially the transformation of two-dimensional stress; it emerges that the combinations xx + yy , xx — yy + 2 ixy are all-important in the treatment in terms of complex variables; (ii) by the introduction of two complex potentials Ω( z ), ω( z ) each a function of a single complex variable in terms of . which the displacements and stresses can be very simply expressed. Transformation of the cartesian combinations u + iv , xx + yy , xx — yy + 2 ixy to the orthogonal curvilinear combinations u ξ + iu n , ξξ + ηη, ξξ - ηη + 2iξη is simple and speedy. The nature of "the complex potentials is discussed, and the conditions that the solution for the displacements shall be physically admissible, i.e. single-valued or at most of the possible dislocational types, is found to relate the cyclic functions of the complex potentials. Formulae are found for the force and couple resultants at the origin z = 0 equivalent to the stresses round a closed circuit in the elastic material, and these also are found to relate the cyclic functions of the complex potentials. The body force has bhen supposed derivable from a particular body force potential which includes as special cases (i) the usual gravitational body force, (ii) the reversed mass accelerations or so-called ‘centrifugal’ body forces of steady rotation. The power of the complex variable method is exhibited by finding the appropriate complex potentials for a very wide variety of problems, and whilst the main object of the present paper has been to extend the wellknown usefulness of the complex variable method in non-viscous hydrodynamical theory to two-dimensional elasticity, solutions have been given to a number of new problems and corrections made to certain other previous solutions.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Sacchi Landriani ◽  
M. Rovati

The paper deals with the problem of finding the optimal orientation of orthotropic properties for an elastic body, subjected to a plane state of stress, in order to maximize the stiffness of the body itself. A variational formulation of the problem is presented and the computation of the necessary condition for an optimal solution is carried out. The physical meaning of such a condition is then outlined, and its generality pointed out with reference to the case of two-dimensional flexural systems. Finally, an extension of the plane stress problem is formulated, taking into account as design variables both the orientation of orthotropy axes and the mechanical properties of the material, according to a global constraint on the structural cost.


Author(s):  
Sunho Park ◽  
Shin Hyung Rhee

Mostly for military purposes, which require high speed and low drag, super-cavitating flows around under-water bodies have been an interesting, yet difficult research subject for many years. In the present study, high speed super-cavitating flow around a two-dimensional symmetric wedge-shaped cavitator was studied using an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations solver based on a cell-centered finite volume method. To verify the computational method, flow over a hemispherical head-form body was simulated and validated against existing experimental data. Through the verification tests, the appropriate selection of domain extents, cell counts, numerical schemes, turbulence models, and cavitation models was studied carefully. A cavitation model based on the two-phase mixture flow modeling was selected with the standard k-epsilon model for turbulence closure. The cavity length, surface pressure distribution, and the flow velocity at the interface were compared with experimental data and analytic solutions. Various computational conditions, such as different wedge angles and caviation numbers, were considered for super-cavitating flow around the wedge-shaped cavitator. Super-cavitation begins to form in the low pressure region and propagates downstream. The computed cavity length and drag on the body were compared with analytic solution and computational results using a potential flow solver. Fairly good agreement was observed in the three-way comparison. The computed velocity on the cavity interface was also predicted quite closely to that derived from the Bernoulli equation. Finally, comparison was made between the computational results and cavitation tunnel test data, along with suggestions for cavitator designs.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Wisnu Wardhana ◽  
Ede Mehta Wardhana ◽  
Meitha Soetardjo

Modelling of unidirectional and oscillatory flows around a cylinder near a wall using an overlapping grid system is carried out. The circular grid system of the cylinder was overlapped with the rectangular grid system of the wall. The use of such an overlapping grid system is intended to reduce the CPU time compared to the cloud scheme in which vortex-to-vortex interaction is used, i.e., especially in calculating the shedding vortex velocity, since calculating the vortices velocity takes the longest CPU time. This method is not only time efficient, but also gives a better distribution of surface vorticity as the scattered vortices around the body are now concentrated on a grid point. Therefore, grid-to-grid interaction is used instead of vortex-to-vortex interaction. Velocity calculation was also carried out using this overlapping grid in which the new incremental shift position was summed up to obtain the total new vortices position. The engineering applications of this topic are to simulate the loading of submarine pipeline placed close to the seabed or to simulate the flow as a result of the scouring process below the cylinder since there is space for the fluid to flow beneath it. The in-line and transverse force coefficients are found by integrating the pressure around the cylinder surface. The flow patterns are then obtained and presented. The comparison of the results with experimental evidence is presented and the range of good results is discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher R. Schumacher ◽  
Aleksander S. Popel ◽  
Bahman Anvari ◽  
William E. Brownell ◽  
Alexander A. Spector

Cell membrane tethers are formed naturally (e.g., in leukocyte rolling) and experimentally to probe membrane properties. In cochlear outer hair cells, the plasma membrane is part of the trilayer lateral wall, where the membrane is attached to the cytoskeleton by a system of radial pillars. The mechanics of these cells is important to the sound amplification and frequency selectivity of the ear. We present a modeling study to simulate the membrane deflection, bending, and interaction with the cytoskeleton in the outer hair cell tether pulling experiment. In our analysis, three regions of the membrane are considered: the body of a cylindrical tether, the area where the membrane is attached and interacts with the cytoskeleton, and the transition region between the two. By using a computational method, we found the shape of the membrane in all three regions over a range of tether lengths and forces observed in experiments. We also analyze the effects of biophysical properties of the membrane, including the bending modulus and the forces of the membrane adhesion to the cytoskeleton. The model’s results provide a better understanding of the mechanics of tethers pulled from cell membranes.


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