Flow Interactions and Wake Structures in Large Groups of Undulating Foils

The canonical motion of foils has been studied extensively in many applications, including energy harvesting. The advantage of undulating foils is often realized in their ability to positively interfere with neighboring foils. However, more research is needed in understanding different arrangements of undulating foils, along with the fluid dynamics interactions involved in enhancing the performance of the foils for this advantage to properly scale to a large number of foils. This work utilizes the concept of subgroups within a school, borrowed from biological studies of fish schools, along with an immersed boundary method-based computational fluids solver to investigate how these larger groups of undulating foils interact. A parametric study is completed around the spacing of the back subgroup, and the vortex formation and wake structures are analyzed, revealing that the back subgroup gains efficiency via interactions with the wake of the front subgroup. The present study gives insight into how groups of undulating foils interact and uncovers mechanisms that enhance performance through their interaction.