9 Sep 2021

Computational Mechanics of the Paddlefish Rostrum

Abstract: The rostrum of a paddlefish provides hydrodynamic stability during feeding process in addition to detect the food using receptors that are randomly distributed in the rostrum. The exterior tissue of the rostrum covers the cartilage that surrounds the bones forming interlocking star shaped bones. Design/methodology/approach – The aim of this work is to assess the mechanical behavior of four finite element models varying the type of formulation as follows: linear-reduced integration, linear-full integration, quadratic-reduced integration and quadratic-full integration. Also presented is the load transfer mechanisms of the bone structure of the rostrum. Findings – Conclusions are based on comparison among the four models. There is no significant difference between integration orders for similar type of elements. Quadratic-reduced integration formulation resulted in lower structural stiffness compared with linear formulation as seen by higher displacements and stresses than using linearly formulated elements. It is concluded that second-order elements with reduced integration and can model accurately stress concentrations and distributions without over stiffening their general response. Originality/value – The use of advanced computational mechanics techniques to analyze the complex geometry and components of the paddlefish rostrum provides a viable avenue to gain fundamental understanding of the proper finite element formulation needed to successfully obtain the system behavior and hot spot locations.