Quantitative wake analysis of a freely swimming fish using 3D synthetic aperture PIV

Abstract

Synthetic aperture PIV (SAPIV) is used to quantitatively analyze the wake behind a giant danio (Danio aequipinnatus) swimming freely in a seeded quiescent tank. The experiment is designed with minimal constraints on animal behavior to ensure that natural swimming occurs. The fish exhibits forward swimming and turning behaviors at speeds between 0.9 and 1.5 body lengths/second. Results show clearly isolated and linked vortex rings in the wake structure, as well as the thrust jet coming off of a visual hull reconstruction of the fish body. As a benchmark for quantitative analysis of volumetric PIV data, the vortex circulation and impulse are computed using methods consistent with those applied to planar PIV data. Volumetric momentum analysis frameworks are discussed for linked and asymmetric vortex structures, laying a foundation for further volumetric studies of swimming hydrodynamics with SAPIV. Additionally, a novel weighted refocusing method is presented as an improvement to SAPIV reconstruction.