The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish

A northern pike (Esox lucius) is capable of achieving a maximum instantaneous acceleration of 25g, far greater than that achieved by any manmade vehicle. In order to understand the physical mechanisms behind achieving such high accelerations, we have built a mechanical fish to emulate the motion of...

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Main Authors: Feng, Chengcheng, Bonafilia, Brian R., Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya, Triantafyllou, Michael S
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Format: Article
Published: ASME International 2019
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120737
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4960-7060
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author Feng, Chengcheng
Bonafilia, Brian R.
Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya
Triantafyllou, Michael S
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Feng, Chengcheng
Bonafilia, Brian R.
Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya
Triantafyllou, Michael S
author_sort Feng, Chengcheng
collection MIT
description A northern pike (Esox lucius) is capable of achieving a maximum instantaneous acceleration of 25g, far greater than that achieved by any manmade vehicle. In order to understand the physical mechanisms behind achieving such high accelerations, we have built a mechanical fish to emulate the motion of a pike, a fast-start specialist. A live pike bends its body into either a C-shaped or an S-shaped curve and then uncoils it very quickly to send a traveling wave along its body in order to achieve high acceleration. We have designed a mechanical fish whose motion is accurately controlled by servo motors, to emulate the fast-start by bending its body to a curve from its original straight position, and then back to its straight position. Furthermore, this mechanical fish is designed to be adjustable in swimming pattern, tail shape, tail rigidity, and body rigidity, making it possible to study the influence of all of these parameters on the fast-start performance. Peak accelerations of 2.0 m/s2 and peak velocities of 0.09 m/s are measured. Although the maximum accelerations and velocities observed in our mechanical fish are smaller than those of live fish, the form of the measured acceleration signal as function of time is quite similar to that of a live fish. The hydrodynamic efficiencies are observed to be around 12%, and it is shown that the majority of the thrust is produced at the rear part of the mechanical fish - similarly to the live fish. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1207372022-09-29T17:02:17Z The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish Feng, Chengcheng Bonafilia, Brian R. Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya Triantafyllou, Michael S Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Triantafyllou, Michael S A northern pike (Esox lucius) is capable of achieving a maximum instantaneous acceleration of 25g, far greater than that achieved by any manmade vehicle. In order to understand the physical mechanisms behind achieving such high accelerations, we have built a mechanical fish to emulate the motion of a pike, a fast-start specialist. A live pike bends its body into either a C-shaped or an S-shaped curve and then uncoils it very quickly to send a traveling wave along its body in order to achieve high acceleration. We have designed a mechanical fish whose motion is accurately controlled by servo motors, to emulate the fast-start by bending its body to a curve from its original straight position, and then back to its straight position. Furthermore, this mechanical fish is designed to be adjustable in swimming pattern, tail shape, tail rigidity, and body rigidity, making it possible to study the influence of all of these parameters on the fast-start performance. Peak accelerations of 2.0 m/s2 and peak velocities of 0.09 m/s are measured. Although the maximum accelerations and velocities observed in our mechanical fish are smaller than those of live fish, the form of the measured acceleration signal as function of time is quite similar to that of a live fish. The hydrodynamic efficiencies are observed to be around 12%, and it is shown that the majority of the thrust is produced at the rear part of the mechanical fish - similarly to the live fish. Copyright © 2011 by ASME. 2019-03-05T18:21:56Z 2019-03-05T18:21:56Z 2011-11 2019-01-04T18:55:29Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper 978-0-7918-5488-4 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120737 Feng, Chengcheng, Brian R. Bonafilia, Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi, and Michael S. Triantafyllou. “The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish.” ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, 11-17 November, 2011, Denver, Colorado, USA, ASME, 2011. © 2011 ASME https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4960-7060 http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2011-65035 ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf ASME International ASME
spellingShingle Feng, Chengcheng
Bonafilia, Brian R.
Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya
Triantafyllou, Michael S
The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title_full The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title_fullStr The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title_full_unstemmed The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title_short The Mechanics of Fast-Start Performance of Pike Studied Using a Mechanical Fish
title_sort mechanics of fast start performance of pike studied using a mechanical fish
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120737
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4960-7060
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