Maximum Propulsive Swimming Wakes

R. Arellano1 and J.M. Redondo2

1
Ciencias del Deporte, Universidad de Granada, Granada , SPAIN
2
Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona , SPAIN

Swimming propulsion in humans is the result of the muscular force applied by the
hands, arms and feet to the water and the aim in sport is to maximize effective
propulsion minimizing energy. In previous studies we recorded propulsive force
during tethered swimming and used bubbles to trace the water flow (Arellano et al,
2002, 2006)[1,2]. Vorticity in wakes was seen to be dominant in the best swimmers,
whose circulation produced by both hands and feet (eddies or vortex structures) were
more regular. When non-steady motions occur Zhukovsky’s condition is not met and
unbound vortices are shed at the tips of the hands and feet in a turbulent 3D fashion
forming a complex wake.

Figure 1 Development of vortex structures by movement of the hand and in underwater

undulatory kicking. Thanks to the flow visualisation vortices of different sizes are detected.

Studies in the animal world show how vortices are generated during the flight of
birds and the propulsion of fish or dolphins. [3-6], they show that there is a Strouhal
number of 0.2 associated to usual propulsion, which could be associated to maximum
efficiency. Three different vortices can be observed during the propulsion of the
hands from experiments like those shown in figure 1: The starting vortex, the tip
vortex and the hub vortex. The starting vortex is produced due to the acceleration. In
these cases the sweep-back angle is 0º, and would also be generated during all the
unsteady propulsive movements including from the changes in the sweep-back
angles, and it is easily visible during suddenly changes of the hand movement after
the change of the hand movement direction is detached and it keeps rotating in the
water during a short time. The difference in pressure between upper and lower hand
produces vortices that are shed from the hands tips. These hand-tip vortices can be
observed during real swimming when the swimmer traps bubbles during the hand
entry. A line of bubbles shows the swimmer's pulling path. Hub vortices are
generated in screw type or propeller motions, and are observed in small propulsive
movements of the hands featured as sculling during synchronised swimming. The
observations of Counsillman and others showed that lift was also important beside
drag in human swimming [3-7], the role of vorticity production seems to be more
important than previously thought [8-10]. We used different systems to observe
vortices: a) vortices generated during ondulatory underwater swimming and
breaststroke leg kicking injecting bubbles; b) vortices produced by the hand in
analytical situation in the lab using reflective small particles and; c) vortices created
during analytical situations in the swimming pool and in real freestyle swimming and
kicking using a bubble wall. [2,8]

Plastic tubes connected from an air compressor to the body of the swimmer with the
exit at the toe generate a bubble traces of the trajectory, easily observed during
underwater body gliding. Without feet movement and during horizontal gliding, the
bubbles draw a line parallel to body displacement until they start rising due to
buoyancy. Traces are maintained for a couple of seconds while turbulent velocity
components are larger and they allow to measure the extent and structure of the
wake. The smaller the injected bubbles, the longer the structure of the wakes may be
observed. The use of a Laser sheet or more powerful light allows to improve the
wake analysis.

The best swimmers generated a big vortex at the end of the downward kick. This
vortex started during the initial phase of the downward vertical movement, in the
wake we found the vortex seems more coherent and rotates in the same place without
displacement longer than for slower swimmers.

Figure 2. Example of vortex structures in a Laser Sheet in the Laboratory.

A small aquarium was utilised in the laboratory with small reflective particles were
placed in the water with density similar to the water. A .2 W solid state laser
projected a parallel plane of light produced by a cylindrical lens. The plane of Laser
light allowed us to observe easily the position of the pliolite and pearlescence
particles. A video camera was placed perpendicular to the aquarium. The shutter
speed was low to see easily the path of the particles. Attack angles between 40º - 70º
were examined showing a direct relationship between the sixe of the vortex and the
 angle of attack. The same system is being set up in new experiments positioned in
the middle of the pool lane nearest to an underwater window. Trials and calibration
with fidutial points is necessary to capture the movement of hand crossing the bubble
wall in the correct moment to show the vorticity structure by means of PIV using
DigImage programme as shown in figure 2. In preliminary experiments the
coherence of the vortex rotation after kicks or the generation of larger vortices during
the hand pull seem related to higher propulsion. This effect has been analysed by
Linden and Turner [11] for a single propulsive vortex ring [2] but an statistical
comparison of the momentum and vorticity in complex wakes, like in the
measurements of lift and drag [9,10] seems important to understand the role of
coherent vorticity in propulsive wakes.

References
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generation and application during the start, turn and swimming strokes. Universidad de Granada: ISBS 2002.

[2] Arellano R., JM Terres-Nicol, JM Redondo (2006) Fundamental hydrodynamics of swimming propulsion
Portuguese Journal of Sport Sciences, 6. Sup. 1, 13.

[3] Bixler, B. and Riewald, S. (2002) Analysis of a swimmer’s hand and arm in steady flow conditions using
computational fluid dynamics. Journal of Biomechanics, 35: 713-717.

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Sport (1 ed., pp. 35-51). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Inc.

[5] Counsilman, J. E. (1971). The Application of Bernoulli's Principle to Human Propulsion in Water. Paper presented
at the First International Symposium on "Biomechanics in Swimming, Water-Polo and Diving", Bruxelles.

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Biomechanics of Human Movement (2nd ed., pp. 447-470). Madison, Wisconsin: Brown & Benchmark.

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presented at the X Simposio de la Sociedad Ibérica de Biomecánica, Madrid.

[8] Redondo, J. M., & Arellano, R. (1998). Flow Visualization Using Reflective Particles in Analytical Movements
of the Hand in Water: A Pilot Study . Barcelona: Escuela Técnica Superior de Canales y Puertos.

[9] Redondo, J. M., & Cano, J. L. (1979). Primeras Determinaciones de los Efectos de Sustentación e Impulso en
Natación. Natación, Saltos y Water-Polo, 1(5 (5)), 36-46.

[10] Redondo, J. M., Morris, S., & Cano, J. L. (1981). Estudio sobre la Propulsión Producida por las Manos en
Natación. Natación, Saltos y Water-Polo, 3(1 (18)), 32-37.

[11] Linden P.F. and Turner J.S. (2001) The formation of optimal vortex rings and the efficiency of propulsion devices.
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 Jet Structure and Mixing
E. Sekula1 P. L. Gonzalez-Nieto 2 and J.M. Redondo1
1
Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona , SPAIN
2
Fac. Biologia. Univ. Complutense de Madrid, Madrid , SPAIN

We compare the different series of detailed experiments that have been performed in the
Laboratory of Fluid Dynamics of the UPC on jet and wake generated turbulence and its decay.
Measurements of the 3 components of turbulent velocity and their spectra are presented in
order to obtain a basic understanding on local diffusion, mixing and mass transport in jets and
vortices. We compare different wall and boundary effects on the structure of jets and vortices
including vorticity production and decay. We present ADV velocity measurements and
compare mean and fluctuating velocity components as well as their PDF’s and spectra. The
turbulent interactions between the jets, vortices and the boundary layer structures generated
are discussed taking into account both the inverse and direct cascades of the jets as a function
of their distance to the wall.. The importance of the study of turbulence structure and its
relevance in diffusion of contaminants in environmental flows self-similarity is present with
very few exceptions in most environmental strongly non-homogeneous flows, both vertically
and horizontally. Using the concept of Extended Self Similarity (ESS) we describe a criterion
to identify the inertial range in the Kolmogorov sense as well as a methodology based on the
evaluation of the spectral behavior and the structure functions of the velocity fields to
determine intermittency. The statistical description of these complex environmental turbulent
systems (jets and vertical structures) is performed in the framework of ESS for non-
homogeneous turbulence based on the analysis of the energy transfer hierarchy. A physical
interpretation of the scale independence of the relative exponents indicates the non-
homogeneity of the turbulent field, which is characterized by non-local dynamics and not only
intermittency.

Figure 1 Jet and Plume generation in quiescent and turbulent environments using an oscillating grid. The
structures of a single Jet and Jet arrays were compared with flow visualisation.

an experimental model with two fluids of unequal density under an unstable density
distribution. The mixing process is generated by the evolution of a bidimensional
array of forced turbulent plumes, from 1 to 9 [1,2]. The conclusions of the first
experiments where no Jet structure was formed, but a 2D array was used to measure
mixing efficiency and the volume of the final mixed layer as functions of the Atwood
 number, ( 0.010 to 0.134) was discussed by [2] The mixing efficiency has an upper
limit of 0.18 compared with the maximum mixing efficiency (0.5) in comparable
experiments [3-5]. An explanation to understand the smaller mixing efficiencies uses
the reduction in possible mixing volume induced by the interaction of the array of
plumes, and its interaction with the side walls that clearly modify the overall mixing
efficiency, so it depends strongly on initial conditions and the structure of the jet
entrainment boundaries [6-8]. The reduction of the overall mixing efficiency when
the flow starts as an array of plumes may be explained because there is less volume
where contact may exist at molecular level. The regions of higher local mixing would
be the cones of the plumes - using Turners plume entrainment hypothesis-. Moreover,
the outer region of the cones-plumes will never contain heavier fluid as figure 2
shows and once the potential energy is lost by a falling plume no mixing may take
place locally above the Ozmidov scale. This initial dilution and the horizontal
entrainment is crucial as less plumes and it affects in a non-linear fashion the overall
mixing efficiency. For the different experiments the volume flux Q, the momentum
flux M and the buoyancy flux B may be defined in different ways for 2D and 3D
arrays. The initial conditions affect strongly the Plume to Jet lengthscales and these
in turn affect the mixingefficiency.

Figure 2 Interaction of a single Jet with a wall and interaction within an array of jets/plumes, The shape
and structure of the external entrainment surface is important and conditions the maximum mixing
efficiency [2].

Figure 3 ADV turbulent velocity measurements as the plume traverses the probe, the spectra and the
possible resonances between the grid generated turbulence will increase local mixing of the plume, the
PDF of the velocity indicate the intermittency of the velocity,which is considered to be related to the
fractal dimension spectra, [9-12]
The relationship between intermittency and fractal dimension spectral functions has not been
developed fully, due to the different theoretical approaches between the structure functions and
the fractality of the dissipation field. The difficulty of the measurements does not allow a
functional dependence between both types of measurements. Nevertheless ther is a clear effect
of the influence of a wall or of a source ofnon-homogeneity on the Kurthosis of the velocity
field. This type of image analysis may also be used in satellite images of the ocean providing
some indication of the mixing processes in the ocean as shown by [11,12].

Figure 4 Multifractal spectra measurements of the evolution of a plume in turbulent environment, the
indication that the shape of D(i) reaches a uniform value for different intensity levels is consistent with a
convective type of structure [9-11].

[1] Linden, P.F. and Redondo J.M., 2005. Molecular mixing in Rayleigh-Taylor
Instability, part 1, Phys Fluids ,A 3 , pp. 1269-1277.
[2] Gonzalez Nieto, P.L., 2004, PhD Thesis. Universidad Complutense, Madrid.
[3] Frisch, U.,1995. Turbulence the legacy of A. N. Kolmogorov, Cambridge University
Press, 1995.
[4] Linden, P. F., Redondo, J. M. and Youngs, D. L., 1994. Molecular mixing in
Rayleigh-Taylor Instability, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 265, pp. 97-124.
[5] Castilla R, Redondo J.M., Gamez P.J. and Babiano A., 2007. Coherent vortices and
Lagrangian Dynamics in 2D Turbulence. Non-Linear Processes in Geophysics.14,
139.
[6] Redondo J.M. and Garzon G.,2004. Multifractal structure and intermittency in
Rayleigh-Taylor Driven Fronts. Ed. S. Dalziel
www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/iwpctm9/proceedings/IWPCTM9/Papers/Pr
ogramme
[7] Redondo J.M. and Linden P.F.(1990) Mixing produced by Rayleigh-Taylor
instabilities, Waves and Turbulence in stably stratified flows, IMA conference.
Leeds. Ed. S.D. Mobbs. pp. 395-431.
[8] Baines W.D., 1975. Entrainment by a plume or jet at a density interface Jour. of
Fluid Mechanics. 68, pp. 309-320.
[9] Sekula E., Redondo J. M. (2008) “The structure of turbulent jets, vortices and
boundary layer: Laboratory and field observations”, Il Nuovo Cimento, Vol. 31, N. 5-
6, Settembre-Dicembre 2008, DOI 10.1393/ncc/i2009-10358-y, pp. 893 – 907.
[10] Sekula E., Redondo J.M. (2007) “The structure of turbulent jets”, Proceedings of
Colloquium Fluid Dynamics, Institute of thermomechanics, Academy of Science of
the Czech Republic, v. v. i., Prague, pp. 79-80, ISBN 978-80-87012-07-09
[11] Platonov A., Tarquis A., Sekula E., Redondo J. M. (2007) “SAR observations of
vortical structures and turbulence in the Ocean”, Models, Experiments and
computation in turbulence. Eds. R. Castilla, E. Oñate and J.M. Redondo, CIMNE,
Barcelona, pp. 195 -230
[12] Platonov A., Carillo A., Matulka A., Sekula E., Grau J., Redondo J. M., Tarquis A.
M. (2008) “Multifractal observations of eddies, oil spills and natural slicks in the
ocean surface”, Il Nuovo Cimento, Vol. 31 C, N. 5-6, Settembre-Dicembre 2008,
DOI 10.1393/ncc/i2009-10349-0, pp. 861 – 880
 Vortices in 2D and 3D Stratified Conditions
A. Matulka1 and J.M. Redondo1
1
Dept. Fisica Aplicada, Univ. Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona , SPAIN

Most predictive models fail when forcing at the Rossby deformation Radius is
important and a large range of scales have to be taken into account. When mixing of
reactants or pollutants has to be accounted, the range of scales spans from hundreds
of Kilometres to the Bachelor or Kolmogorov sub millimetre scales. The effect of
intermittent eddies and non-homogeneity of diffusion, are also key issues in the
environment because both stratification and rotation body forces are important and
cause anisotropy/non-homogeneity. These problems need further theoretical,
numerical and observational work and one approach is to try to maximize the
relevant geometrical information in order to understand and therefore predict these
complex environmental dispersive flows. The importance of the study of turbulence
structure and its relevance in diffusion of contaminants in environmental flows is
clear when we see the effect of environmental disasters such as the Prestige oil spill
or the Chernobyl radioactive cloud spread in the atmosphere. A series of
Experiments have been performed on a strongly stratified two layer fluid consisting
of Brine in the bottom and freshwater above in a 1 square meter tank. The evolution
of the vortices after the passage of a grid is video recorded and Particle tracking is
applied on small pliolite particles floating at the interface. The combination of
internal waves and vertical vorticity produces two separate time scales that may
produce resonances. Oceanic and atmospheric flows may be considered as turbulent
motions under the constraints of geometry, stratification and rotation. At large scales
these flows tend to be along isopycnal surfaces due to the combined effects of the
very low aspect ratio of the flows (the motion is confined to thin layers of fluid) and
the existence of stable density stratification. The effect of the Earth's rotation is to
reduce the vertical shear in these almost planar flows. The combined effects of these
constraints are to produce approximately two-dimensional turbulent flows termed as
geophysical turbulence.

Figure 1 Parameter space covered by the rotating and stratified experiments [1,5].

The mixing across a density interface may be evaluated by a general entrainment law
[1-3] as.
 = c(Pr )⋅ Ri − n ( Ri ,Pr )
Ue
E= '
u

For oscillating grid experiments the entrainment velocity Ue defined as

Ue = dD dt , where D is the depth of the turbulent layer, is given by a simple law of
the form
E ∝ Ri − n
where E, the entrainment rate is normalized by either some global or local reference
velocity. The Richardson number, ( Ri ), measures the relative importance of
buoyancy forces which usually act so as to stabilize the flow, and velocity fluctuations
which tends to destabilize it. The experiments are parametrized by The Reynolds
number, Re = u’ l / ν the Richardson number and the Rossby numer, Ro = u’ /Ω l. So
in figure 1 the experiments are spread in a 3D space with axes (Re, Ri and 1/Ro ).
There are several techniques that are used to track the pliolite particles and produce
the velocity and vorticity plots used to calculate spatial correlations intermittency and
spectra [3]. Figure 2 shows the evolution (during 1 second) of the vorticity (plane
2D) scalar field as the turbulence decays after the passage of the grid in the strongly
stratified interface. The dominant vortices can be studied as they interact, merge or
break up.

Figure 2. Example of 2D vorticity maps in false colour, the behaviour of the dominant
vortices, seems much more complex than previously thought, showing non-local interactions

Figure 3. Example of a temperature interface evolution in the ocean. The Thermocline is

marked in false colour, the interfacial mixing structures are clearly seen and are influences by
the parameter conditions (Ri,Re,Ro). Image provided by Luis Gostiaux (Legi, Grenoble)

One of the most important roles of Stratification and Rotation in environmental

turbulence, and in general of all body forces, including magnetic fields; is to alter the
simetry as well as the scale to scale equilibrium and symmetry of the Navier-Stokes
equations and thus modify the slope of the spectral energy cascade and the dominant
instability [4,5].

The energy spectrum for two-dimensional N-point vortex systems is also estimated.
The system in an infinite plane is considered. We focus our attention on the energy
spectrum of the system “in equilibrium” in the grid oscillating experiments and “in a
transient state” in the stratified decay of turbulence at a sharp density interface. For
like-sign point vortex systems in a plane determined by the PIV system, we have
succeeded in deriving a scaling law of the energy spectrum E(k) . The study of the
decay of the numer of vortices in a plane, and the scaling law of the energy spectrum
in equilibrium and in the transient state depends on the system parameters
(Re,Ri,Ro), which controls the type of dominant mixing instability as well as the
conditions of vortex decay. So the process does not seem universal.

Another experimental and numerical observation is that while the anisotropy of the
Reynolds stresses is obviously linked with the non-homogeneity taking the vertical
axis (in stratified flows) and the rotation axis (in rotating flows) (It is not that clear for
a magnetic field); Scalar behaviour in such flows has non-linear mixing properties
Redondo et al. (2002,2004) [6,7]. There are similar effects that depart from
Kolmogorov’s K41 and also for K62 theories, not just in second order structure
functions (and related spectra) for spatial non-homogeneity, for anisotropy and for
spatial and temporal intermittency
[1] Matulka, A. (2003), Environmental Turbulence. Effects of rotation and stratification on
diffusion and mixing in geophysical flows, MSc Thesis. Tech. Univ. Warsaw.
[2] Carrillo, J.A., Redondo, J.M., Sánchez, M.A., and Platonov, A. (2001), Coastal and
interfacial mixing laboratory experiments and satellite observation, Physics and
chemistry of the Earth 26 (4), 305.
[3] Mahjoub, O. B., Babiano A. and Redondo, J. M., 1998. Structure functions in
complex flows, Jour Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, 59, 299–313.
[4] Chandraeekhar, S. 1961. Hydrodynamic and Hydromagnetic Stability, Oxford
University Press.
[5] Redondo, J.M. and Cantalapiedra I.R.,1993. Mixing in Horizontally
HeterogeneousFlows. Jour. Flow Turbulence and Combustion. 51. 217-222
[6] Redondo; J. M. (2002), Mixing efficiencies of different kinds of turbulent processes
and instabilities: Applications to the environment in Turbulent mixing in geophysical
flows. Eds. Linden P.F. and Redondo J.M., 131-157.
[7] Redondo, J.M. (2004), The topology of Stratified Rotating Flows in Topics in Fluid
Mechanics. Prihoda & K.Kozel, CAS, Praga 129-135.