Simulation of self-propelled anguilliform swimming by local domain-free discretization method

Abstract

The local domain-free discretization method is extended in this work to simulate fluid-structure interaction problems, the class of which is exemplified by the self-propelled anguilliform swimming of deforming bodies in a fluid medium. Given the deformation of the fish body in its own reference frame, the translational and rotational motions of the body governed by Newton's Law are solved together with the surrounding flow field governed by Navier-Stokes equations. When the body is deforming and moving, no mesh regeneration is required in the computation. The loose coupling strategy is employed to simulate the fluid-structure interaction involved in the self-propelled swimming. The local domain-free discretization method and an efficient algorithm for classifying the Eulerian mesh points are described in brief. To validate the fluid-structure interaction solver, we simulate the 'lock-in' phenomena associated with the vortex-induced vibrations of an elastically mounted cylinder. Finally, we demonstrate applications of the method to two-dimensional and three-dimensional anguilliform-swimming fish. The kinematics and dynamics associated with the center of mass are shown and the rotational movement is also presented via the angular position of the body axis. The wake structure is visualized in terms of vorticity contours. All the obtained numerical results show good agreement with available data in the literature. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.