Pizza enthusiasts know well that a simple u-shaped curvature at the crust can keep a thin slice from drooping over when lifted from a plate. A team of engineers from Brown University has shown that fish may take advantage of roughly the same dynamics to stiffen their fins for swimming.
Pizza enthusiasts know well that a simple u-shaped curvature at the crust can keep a thin slice from drooping over when lifted from a plate. A team of engineers from Brown University has shown that fish may take advantage of roughly the same dynamics to stiffen their fins for swimming.
Using a mathematical model and the mackerel pectoral fin as an illustrative example, the researchers show how fin stiffness may be changed by applying a u-shaped curvature at the fin's base. The effect, the researchers say, might underlie the ability of fish to swim at widely varying speeds in all kinds of currents with great maneuverability.
“One way to become more maneuverable is by having the ability to generate varying amounts of force on the water when flapping a fin,” said Shreyas Mandre, an assistant professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and a co-author of the research. “We think that fish modulate curvature at the base of the fin to make it stiffer or softer, which alters the force they generate on the water, which in turn may underlie some of their maneuverability.”
The research was conducted in collaboration with Khoi Nguyen and Madhusudhan Venkadesan from Yale University, Ning Yu from UCLA and Mahesh M. Bandi from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. It is described in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Read more at Brown University
Image: New research suggests fish fins may take advantage of 'functional curvature' to increase their stiffness for swimming. (Credit: Mandre Lab / Brown University)
