The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology
The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) is exceptional among the large baleen whales in its ability to undertake aquabatic maneuvers to catch prey. Humpback whales utilize extremely mobile, wing-like flippers for banking and turning. Large rounded tubercles along the leading edge of the flippe...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:icbiol:51/1/203 2023-05-15T15:37:10+02:00 The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology Fish, Frank E. Weber, Paul W. Murray, Mark M. Howle, Laurens E. 2011-07-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/51/1/203 https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 en eng Oxford University Press http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/51/1/203 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 Copyright (C) 2011, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Bioinspiration: Applying Mechanical Design to Experimental Biology TEXT 2011 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 2011-07-01T20:55:41Z The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) is exceptional among the large baleen whales in its ability to undertake aquabatic maneuvers to catch prey. Humpback whales utilize extremely mobile, wing-like flippers for banking and turning. Large rounded tubercles along the leading edge of the flipper are morphological structures that are unique in nature. The tubercles on the leading edge act as passive-flow control devices that improve performance and maneuverability of the flipper. Experimental analysis of finite wing models has demonstrated that the presence of tubercles produces a delay in the angle of attack until stall, thereby increasing maximum lift and decreasing drag. Possible fluid-dynamic mechanisms for improved performance include delay of stall through generation of a vortex and modification of the boundary layer, and increase in effective span by reduction of both spanwise flow and strength of the tip vortex. The tubercles provide a bio-inspired design that has commercial viability for wing-like structures. Control of passive flow has the advantages of eliminating complex, costly, high-maintenance, and heavy control mechanisms, while improving performance for lifting bodies in air and water. The tubercles on the leading edge can be applied to the design of watercraft, aircraft, ventilation fans, and windmills. Text baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae HighWire Press (Stanford University) Integrative and Comparative Biology 51 1 203 213 |
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Open Polar |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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fthighwire |
language |
English |
topic |
Bioinspiration: Applying Mechanical Design to Experimental Biology |
spellingShingle |
Bioinspiration: Applying Mechanical Design to Experimental Biology Fish, Frank E. Weber, Paul W. Murray, Mark M. Howle, Laurens E. The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
topic_facet |
Bioinspiration: Applying Mechanical Design to Experimental Biology |
description |
The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) is exceptional among the large baleen whales in its ability to undertake aquabatic maneuvers to catch prey. Humpback whales utilize extremely mobile, wing-like flippers for banking and turning. Large rounded tubercles along the leading edge of the flipper are morphological structures that are unique in nature. The tubercles on the leading edge act as passive-flow control devices that improve performance and maneuverability of the flipper. Experimental analysis of finite wing models has demonstrated that the presence of tubercles produces a delay in the angle of attack until stall, thereby increasing maximum lift and decreasing drag. Possible fluid-dynamic mechanisms for improved performance include delay of stall through generation of a vortex and modification of the boundary layer, and increase in effective span by reduction of both spanwise flow and strength of the tip vortex. The tubercles provide a bio-inspired design that has commercial viability for wing-like structures. Control of passive flow has the advantages of eliminating complex, costly, high-maintenance, and heavy control mechanisms, while improving performance for lifting bodies in air and water. The tubercles on the leading edge can be applied to the design of watercraft, aircraft, ventilation fans, and windmills. |
format |
Text |
author |
Fish, Frank E. Weber, Paul W. Murray, Mark M. Howle, Laurens E. |
author_facet |
Fish, Frank E. Weber, Paul W. Murray, Mark M. Howle, Laurens E. |
author_sort |
Fish, Frank E. |
title |
The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
title_short |
The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
title_full |
The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
title_fullStr |
The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Tubercles on Humpback Whales' Flippers: Application of Bio-Inspired Technology |
title_sort |
tubercles on humpback whales' flippers: application of bio-inspired technology |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/51/1/203 https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 |
genre |
baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_relation |
http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/51/1/203 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2011, The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icr016 |
container_title |
Integrative and Comparative Biology |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
203 |
op_container_end_page |
213 |
_version_ |
1766367631753871360 |