World Journal of Mechanics > Vol.5 No.7, July 2015

Yoshihiro Kubota^1*, Osamu Mochizuki²

¹Faculty of Science and Engineering, Toyo University, Saitama, Japan.
²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Toyo University, Saitama, Japan.

Herein, we present the results of our experimental investigation of splashes formed by a frog diving into water from the ground or from a leaf and the accompanying sound generated by the impact of the frog on the water. The experiments are performed by visualizing the flow with a high-speed camera. In addition, we used physical models comprising hydrophilic bodies made from hydrogel or acrylic resin to experimentally study how hydrophilicity affects the splash. In these experiments, we use the degree of swelling to define the hydrophilicity degree. The results show that different splashes are caused by the increase in water-film velocity upon an increase in hydrophilicity. For a body with strong hydrophilicity, at a relatively high film velocity, the water film forms when the body impacts the water surface separates from the body surface. In addition, an aircavity forms when the film separates from the body. We empirically examine the relation between the hydrophilicity degree and film velocity. The results indicate that increased hydrophilicity does not reduce the splash. Therefore, we conclude that reducing of the formation of water from the biomimetic point of view is related to the shape of body.

Frog Dive, Splash Formation, Flow Visualization

Kubota, Y. and Mochizuki, O. (2015) Splash Formation Due to a Frog Diving into Water. World Journal of Mechanics, 5, 129-137. doi: 10.4236/wjm.2015.57014.