Blog Post: Studying the Swimming Patterns of Fish with Simulation

Underwater vehicles and robots are often difficult to manoeuvre due to the dark and murky environments in which they operate. Researchers who design these devices must take this underwater environment into account. One team of researchers used COMSOL Multiphysics to study the swimming pattern of the lamprey fish in order to apply it to their device design. They modelled the fluid-structure interaction between the fish and its environment and analysed the wake pattern and vortices created by its carangiform swimming pattern. This helped them to optimise the design of their fish-inspired underwater robot. The device has potential applications in self-sustained space exploration, particularly in the oceans of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.