Salmonid fishes (trout, salmon and relatives) have served as a model system for study of the mechanics of aquatic animal locomotion, yet little is known about the function of non-axial propulsors in this major taxonomic group. In this study we examine the behavioral and hydromechanical repertoire of the paired pectoral fins of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, performing both steady rectilinea...

A Turing mechanism implemented by BMP, SOX9 and WNT has been proposed to control mouse digit patterning. However, its generality and contribution to the morphological diversity of fins and limbs has not been explored. Here we provide evidence that the skeletal patterning of the catshark Scyliorhinus canicula pectoral fin is likely driven by a deeply conserved Bmp-Sox9-Wnt Turing network. In cat...

Title of Dissertation: CHARACTERIZATION, MODELING, AND OPTIMIZATION OF POLYMER COMPOSITE PIN FINS Raj Bahadur, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Directed By: Professor, Avram Bar-Cohen, Mechanical Engineering Increasing electronic product manufacturing volumes and cooling requirements necessitate the use of new materials and innovative techniques to meet the thermal management challenges and to contri...

The spotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari is characterized by pigmentation patterns that are retained for up to 3·5 years. These pigmentations can be used to identify individuals through photo-identification. Only one study has validated this technique, but no study has estimated the percentage of correct identification of the rays using this technique. In order to carry out demographic research...

Passive heat transfer from enclosures with rectangular fins is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Several sample enclosures with various lengths are prepared and tested. To calibrate the thermal measurements and the analyses, enclosures without fins (“bare” enclosures) are also prepared and tested. Surface temperature distribution is determined for various enclosure lengths and heat...

Maneuverability describes a vehicle’s ability to change course or turn. Maneuverability of conventional underwater vehicles, such as torpedoes, can be determined by altering the position and length of control fins. To perform large-area surveying tasks, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) generally require different maneuverability characteristics in their vertical and horizontal planes of mo...

Sharks have a distinctive shape that remained practically unchanged through hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Nonetheless, there are variations of this shape that vary between and within species. We attempt to explain these variations by examining the partial derivatives of the cost of transport of a generic shark with respect to buoyancy, span and chord of its pectoral fins, length, ...

In order to improve the performance of AUVs in terms of efficiency and maneuverability, researchers have proposed biomimetic propulsion systems that swim using flapping fins rather than rotary propellers. This calls for the exploration of unique locomotion characteristics found in a variety of fish for use in underwater robots. (Sfakiotakis et. al., 1999) present a good review of fish swimming ...