Figure 7. Larger inline and side-by-side formations.
(A) Inline formations lose cohesion and split into two subgroups as depicted here for a group of six swimmers. (B) Side-by-side formations remain cohesive. (C) Power saving of each swimmer in inline and side-by-side formations. Dissipation time . Simulations of inline formations and side-by-side formations ranging from two to six swimmers are shown in Figure 7—figure supplements 1 and 2.
Figure 7—figure supplement 1. Inline formations of multiple flapping swimmers.
Snapshots of inline formations composed of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 swimmers in vortex sheet (VS) simulations at steady state; time evolution of pairwise distances is shown on the right. (A and B) Formations composed of 2 or 3 swimmers are stable with at consecutive spacing . (C) For a trail of 4 swimmers, the group splits into a leading subgroup of 3 swimmers while the fourth swimmer separates from the rest. (D and E) For formation of 5 or 6 swimmers, the group splits into a leading subgroup of 3 swimmers and another subgroup containing the remaining 2 or 3 swimmers. (F) reports recent savings in COT for each swimmer and the average of the whole group.
Figure 7—figure supplement 2. Side-by-side formations of multiple flapping swimmers.
Vortex sheet simulation of side-by-side formations with 2 (A), 3 (B), 4 (C), 5 (D), and 6 (E) swimmers, from top to bottom, respectively. On right-hand side, we report pairwise spacing between them. In all of the groups the formations are stable and the distances between every pair are close to zero. (F) reports recent savings in COT for each swimmer and the average of the whole group.