Data from: From the track to the ocean: using flow control to improve marine bio-logging tags for cetaceans

Bio-logging tags are an important tool for the study of cetaceans, but
superficial tags inevitably increase hydrodynamic loading. Substantial
forces can be generated by tags on fast-swimming animals, potentially
affecting behavior and energetics or promoting early tag removal.
Streamlined forms have been used to reduce loading, but these designs can
accelerate flow over the top of the tag. This non-axisymmetric flow
results in large lift forces (normal to the animal) that become the
dominant force component at high speeds. In order to reduce lift and
minimize total hydrodynamic loading this work presents a new tag design
(Model A) that incorporates a hydrodynamic body, a channel to reduce fluid
speed differences above and below the housing and wing to redirect flow to
counter lift. Additionally, three derivatives of the Model A design were
used to examine the contribution of individual flow control features to
overall performance. Hydrodynamic loadings of four models were compared
using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The Model A design eliminated
all lift force and generated up to ~30 N of downward force in simulated 6
m/s aligned flow. The simulations were validated using particle image
velocimetry (PIV) to experimentally characterize the flow around the tag
design. The results of these experiments confirm the trends predicted by
the simulations and demonstrate the potential benefit of flow control
elements for the reduction of tag induced forces on the animal.