Optimizing snake locomotion on an inclined plane

Abstract

We develop a model to study the locomotion of snakes on an inclined plane. We determine numerically which snake motions are optimal for two retrograde traveling-wave body shapes---triangular and sinusoidal waves---across a wide range of frictional parameters and incline angles. In the regime of large transverse friction coefficient, we find power-law scalings for the optimal wave amplitudes and corresponding costs of locomotion. We give an asymptotic analysis to show that the optimal snake motions are traveling-wave motions with amplitudes given by the same scaling laws found in the numerics.

References in corpus (4)

• Resonance and propulsion performance of a heaving flexible wing
• Geometric visualization of self-propulsion in a complex medium
• A two-dimensional model of low-Reynolds number swimming beneath a free surface
• Optimization of two- and three-link snake-like locomotion

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Characteristics of undulatory locomotion in granular media
• Efficient sliding locomotion with isotropic friction
• Dynamics and locomotion of flexible foils in a frictional environment
• Efficient sliding locomotion of three-link bodies
• Intermittent sliding locomotion of a two-link body
• Efficient sliding locomotion of three-link bodies with inertia