A Study of a Mechanical Swimming Lamprey

To develop a comprehensive model of lamprey swimming, the wake structure generated by a swimming mechanical model is investigated using dye flow visualization. The eel is activated by 13 programmable servomotors and a traveling wave is generated along the length of the body.~ The waveform is based on the motion of an American eel (Anguilla rostrata) of Tytell and Lauder (2004).~ A laser scanning system is used to visualize the three-dimensional unsteady wake structure.