An Investigation Of The Flow Control Mechanisms Of Shortfin Mako Skin Jennifer N Wheelus by Jennifer N. Wheelus instant download after payment.

The skin of fast-swimming sharks is proposed to have mechanisms to reduce drag and delay flow separation. The shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus is one of the fastest and most agile ocean predators and would benefit from minimizing its pressure drag by controlling flow  separation. The skin of shortfin makos is covered in teeth-like denticles with lengths on the order of 0.2 mm. Recent biological studies have shown the bristling angle of these denticles to exceed 50° in locations likely to experience separation first. It is proposed that the reversing flow that occurs near the onset of separation activates denticle bristling. Once activated, the scales would impede the development of a more global separation event over the shark by stopping the reversing flow from travelling further upstream and causing interactions within the boundary layer that allow it to stay attached longer.