Computational modeling in biohydrodynamics: trends, challenges, and recent advances

Computational modeling is assuming increased significance in the area of biohydrodynamics. This trend has been enabled primarily by the widespread availability of powerful computers, as well as the induction of novel numerical and modeling approaches. However, despite these recent advances, computational modeling of flows in complex biohydrodynamic configurations remains a challenging proposition. This is due to a multitude of factors, including the need to handle a wide range of flow conditions (laminar, transitional, and turbulent), the ubiquity of two-way coupled interaction between the fluid and moving/deformable structures, and, finally, the requirement of accurately resolving unsteady flow features. Recently, as part of an Office of Naval Research sponsored review, the objective of which was to distill the science related to biology-based hydrodynamics for maneuvering and propulsion, an extensive survey of computational biohydrodynamics was undertaken. The key findings of this survey are reported in this paper.