Dynamic reconstruction of the fish locomotor wave

Theoretical modeling substantiates the bionic solution of an optimal wave propulsor for water transport, which must have the amplitude and phase characteristics of the fish bending locomotor waves. Use is made of a computer model of multilink chain bending waves where arbitrary distributions can be set for amplitudes and phases of separate segments. With the linear increase in the amplitude of segmental oscillations, a numerical experiment determines the optimal phasing whereby each segment provides a maximal longitudinal component of the motive force. Two versions of hydrodynamic interaction of the segments with water are compared, implying (i) linear and (ii) quadratic drag: the optimal phasing of the transverse and longitudinal oscillations proves to be (i) orthogonal and (ii) nearly orthogonal. The computed bending wave shapes corresponding to dynamic optimization are consistent with the experimental data.