Swimming Near the Wall

The aerodynamic loads on rectangular panels undergoing heave and pitch oscillations near a solid wall were measured using a 6-axis ATI sensor. Over a range of Strouhal numbers, reduced frequencies and flexibilities, swimming near the wall was found to increase thrust and therefore the self-propelled swimming speed. Experimental particle image velocimetry revealed an asymmetric wake structure with a momentum jet angled away from the wall. Both the thrust amplification and the asymmetric wake structure were verified and investigated further using an in-house inviscid panel method code.