Swimming of a self-propelled fishlike body in the slurry

A numerical method that integrates the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) with the Smoothed Point Interpolation Method (S-PIM) is developed to model a two-dimensional self-propelled fishlike body swimming in three distinct slurry conditions. Effects of the maximum muscle force and the limit tail amplitude are specifically examined to understand the swimming performance of the two-dimensional fishlike body in the slurry. Results highlight that an increase in maximum muscle force accelerates swimming velocity. Additionally, swimming velocity may decline with increased tail amplitude in specific slurry conditions. Analysis of wake vortices and yielded/unyielded regions reveals that wake vortices can be significantly suppressed during the transition between solid-like and fluid-like behaviors in slurries. The vortices remain concentrated within the yielded regions even at higher tail amplitude. For swimming efficiency, greater muscle force coupled with reduced tail amplitude achieves superior performance. This research provides insights into designing fishlike robotics in slurry environments. The implications of these findings also extend to the optimization of robotic systems aimed at replicating aquatic locomotion in viscous environments.