A hydrodynamical analysis of fish turning manoeuvres

Abstract

Slender body theory, adapted here to the study of unsteady, curvilinear large amplitude movements in an inviscid fluid, is applied to the study of the turning mechanism in fishes. The vortex wake is represented by the circulation shed from the fins in the present theory. Examination of filmed sequences of turning fish show that the turning process includes three stages, distinguished by different movements of the centre of mass. In the first and third stages the centre of mass moves in straight lines in the initial and final directions of swimming while in the middle period it moves along an approximately circular connecting arc. The forces and moments acting on the fish, calculated by the present method are found to be in good agreement with these experimental observations.