The research is an investigation of dolphin boundary layer characteristics and deals with the Gray's paradox. In the field of cetacean hydrodynamics, the boundary layer of an actively propulsing dolphin is studied using flow visualization techniques. By observing the flow and the skin surface motion and contour, it may be possible to determine the precise nature of an interaction between the fluid and the skin. It would also be possible to determine the extent of a transition region and location of a point of separation. This experimental approach is necessary due to the complexity of the flow field about the dolphin--a flow field characterized by three- dimensional, unsteady motion. Modelling of three-dimensional flows over a body with moving boundaries is done to assist in the theoretical approach. This project is one supported under the Creativity Awards for Undergraduate Engineering Students.
