A Numerical Study of Jet Propulsion of an Oblate Jellyfish Using a Momentum Exchange-Based Immersed Boundary-Lattice Boltzmann Method

In present paper, the locomotion of an oblate jellyfish is numerically investigated by using a momentum exchange-based immersed boundary-Lattice Boltzmann method based on a dynamic model describing the oblate jellyfish. The present investigation is agreed fairly well with the previous experimental works. The Reynolds number and the mass density of the jellyfish are found to have significant effects on the locomotion of the oblate jellyfish. Increasing Reynolds number, the motion frequency of the jellyfish becomes slow due to the reduced work done for the pulsations, and decreases and increases before and after the mass density ratio of the jellyfish to the carried fluid is 0.1. The total work increases rapidly at small mass density ratios and slowly increases to a constant value at large mass density ratio. Moreover, as mass density ratio increases, the maximum forward velocity significantly reduces in the contraction stage, while the minimum forward velocity increases in the relaxation stage.