A Comparison of Panel Methods for Simulation of Fish Swimming

Abstract

In this project, we design and validate a simulation for studying fluid flow around steady and unsteady airfoils. Our motivation comes from the biomimetics of fish, which can swim both efficiently and quickly through water by oscillating their bodies and fins. We compare two panel methods: one based on the lumped vortex element method, and the other based on the Hess-Smith method. We find that the lumped vortex element method gives qualitatively correct results but has problems calculating velocities and pressure coefficients at the body surface. The Hess-Smith method is much more accurate than the lumped vortex element method, but does worse for thinner airfoils.