Wavy Whiskers in Wakes: Explaining the Trail-Tracking Capabilities of Whisker Arrays on Seal Muzzles.

ABSTRACT: Seals can detect prey up to 180 m away using only their flow-sensing whiskers. The unique undulating morphology of Phocid seal whiskers reduces vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs), rendering seals highly sensitive to biologically relevant flow stimuli. In this work, digital models of harbor and grey seal whiskers are extracted using 3D scanning and a mathematical framework that accurately recreates their undulating geometry is proposed. Through fluid-structure interaction studies and experimental investigations involving a whisker array mounted on 3D-printed microelectromechanical systems sensors, the vibration characteristics of the whisker array and the interaction between neighboring whiskers in steady flows and fish-wake-like vortices are explained for the first time. Results reveal that

SUBMITTER: Zheng X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9839859 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature