Diffusion driven object propulsion in density stratified fluids

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted in order to verify the appropriateness of a two dimensional model of the flow creating diffusion driven object propulsion in density stratified fluids. Initial flow field experiments studying the phenomena that drives the so called diffusion fish indicated that there may be an unaccounted for reliance on the width of the diffusion fish in relation to the width of the tank it moved in. Further study examining a full array of wide fish revealed that there is a nonlinear dependence on the width of the fish, and that for a two-dimensional flow field model to be accurately verified experimentally further experiments must take place to quantify and account for this discrepancy.