Swimming in a vortex street

ORAL

Abstract

Recent studies showed that a trout swimming in a cylinder wake can save energy by ``slaloming'' through a vortex street. We present a simple model using a flexible body with vortex sheets, and find swimming shapes which maximize output power and efficiency. We find analytic solutions and compare the optimal swimming phase between the body and vortices with previous experiments and numerics.

Authors

  • Silas Alben

    Georgia Tech, Georgia Institute of Technology