Case Study: Kindai University uncovers bluefin tuna swimming mechanics with Hexagon SC/Tetra

Kindai University - Customer Case Study

Kindai University's Faculty of Agriculture, led by Professor Tsutomu Takagi, faced the challenge of researching the hydrodynamic properties of bluefin tuna. The biological data for these fish was largely unknown, and conducting physical experiments on live, fast-swimming tuna in a controlled environment was deemed impractical and likely to yield inaccurate results. The university turned to the vendor Hexagon and its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, SC/Tetra, to create a digital solution.

Using Hexagon's SC/Tetra software, Professor Takagi's team created a virtual 3D model of a tuna from a scanned real fish. This allowed them to simulate and analyze complex fluid dynamics, such as drag on a gliding tuna and the thrust generated by its tail movement. The solution provided quantitative results, demonstrating that the tuna's drag is relatively low and revealing that their unique up-and-down swimming motion increases efficiency by 10-20%. These findings provided unprecedented insight into the fish's biology and behavior, making Hexagon's fluid analysis tool an indispensable research method for the university.

Kindai University

Tsutomu Takagi

Professor