| Summary: | This thesis reports on the research and testing of the unsteady aerodynamics of pinniped vibrissae, specifically harbor seal whiskers, in relation to their unique ability to suppress drag, lift, pressure, and vortex shedding frequency. It is well documented that harbor seals optimize wake behind their whiskers for better sensory and tactile abilities. These optimizations are in part owed to the geometric undulations in the vibrissae shape. The main objective of this research was to simulate the vibrissae in realistic, unsteady flow conditions and examine what aerodynamic qualities their shape serves to optimize. Using the CFD program ANSYS Fluent to build the vibrissae model and create simulations, comparisons were made with the geometry of a cylinder. Published work on unsteady aerodynamic qualities was utilized for comparisons, and the simulations revealed that the shape of the vibrissae affects the aerodynamics. From the 3D cylinder case to the idealized vibrissae case, simulations saw Coefficient of Lift drop by 99.98%, Coefficient of Drag drop by 99.89%, Coefficient of Pressure drop by 44%, and Strouhal number drop by 99%. It is concluded that the harbor seal vibrissae's undulated geometry create the effective suppression of the periodic forces induced in normal cylinder flow interaction. Future proposals on expanded research and application to engineering systems, such as turbine blade and system design, are made.
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