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Intermittent versus continuous swimming: An optimization tale

Gen Li*

Dmitry Kolomenskiy

Hao Liu

Ramiro Godoy-Diana and Benjamin Thiria

  • Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 3173-25, Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa, 236-0001, Japan

  • Center for Materials Technologies (CMT), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Bolshoy Boulevard 30, Building 1, Moscow 121205, Russia

  • Graduate School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoicho, Inage-ku, Chiba-shi, Chiba 263-8522, Japan

  • Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), CNRS UMR 7636, ESPCI Paris—PSL University, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, 75005 Paris, France

  • *ligen@jamstec.go.jp
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 8, 013101 – Published 13 January, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.8.013101

Abstract

Intermittent swimming, also termed “burst-and-coast swimming,” has been reported as a strategy for fish to enhance their energetical efficiency. Intermittent swimming involves additional control parameters, which complexifies its understanding by means of quantitative and parametrical analysis, in comparison with continuous swimming. In this study, we used a hybrid computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to assess the swimming performance in intermittent swimming parametrically and quantitatively. A Navier-Stokes solver is applied to construct a database in the multidimensional space of the control parameters to connect the undulation kinematics to swimming performance. Based on the database, an indirect numerical approach named “gait assembly” is used to generate arbitrary burst-and-coast gaits to explore the parameter space. Our simulations directly measured the hydrodynamics and energetics under the unsteady added-mass effect during burst-and-coast swimming. The results suggest that the instantaneous power of burst is basically determined by undulatory kinematics. The results show that the energetical performance of burst-and-coast swimming can be better than that of continuous swimming, but also that an unoptimized burst-and-coast gait may become very energetically expensive. These results shed light on the mechanisms at play in intermittent swimming, enabling us to better understand fish behavior and to propose design guidelines for fishlike robots.

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Video

Why Fish Swim Intermittently

Published 13 January, 2023

A simulation shows in detail why the “burst-and-coast” swimming strategy is often more efficient than continuous swimming.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 8, 013101– Published 13 January, 2023
  • Received 12 February 2022
  • Accepted 8 November 2022
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