Bio-Inspired Design: Aerodynamics of Boxfish

This paper investigates the aerodynamic behavior of a boxfish using both experimental and computational methods. A scaled up model boxfish was manufactured and tested in RMIT Industrial Wind Tunnel under a range of Reynolds numbers and yaw angles. The drag, lift and side forces and their corresponding moments were measured simultaneously. A CAD model of the boxfish was used in CFX FLUENT Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling. The CFD modeling data were validated using the experimental findings. The results indicate that the drag coefficient of a boxfish is around 0.10 which is significantly lower than current drag coefficient of a passenger car. Hence, a boxfish shape can be adapted for achieving low drag and energy efficient motor vehicle design.