Heavy flags undergo spontaneous oscillations in flowing water
Abstract
By immersing a compliant yet self-supporting sheet into flowing water, we study a heavy, streamlined, and elastic body interacting with a fluid. We find that above a critical flow velocity a sheet aligned with the flow begins to flap with a Strouhal frequency consistent with animal locomotion. This transition is subcritical. Our results agree qualitatively with a simple fluid dynamical model that predicts linear instability at a critical flow speed. Both experiment and theory emphasize the importance of body inertia in overcoming the stabilizing effects of finite rigidity and fluid drag.
Domains
Physics [physics] Mechanics [physics] Fluid mechanics [physics.class-ph] Engineering Sciences [physics] Mechanics [physics.med-ph] Fluids mechanics [physics.class-ph] Physics [physics] Mechanics [physics] Structural mechanics [physics.class-ph] Engineering Sciences [physics] Mechanics [physics.med-ph] Structural mechanics [physics.class-ph] Physics [physics] Mechanics [physics] Vibrations [physics.class-ph] Engineering Sciences [physics] Mechanics [physics.med-ph] Vibrations [physics.class-ph]
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