The hydrodynamics of a three-dimensional self-propelled flexible plate in a quiescent flow
were simulated using the immersed boundary method. The clamped leading edge of the
flexible plate was forced into a prescribed harmonic oscillation in the vertical direction but
was free to move in the horizontal direction. Several types of trapezoidal plates were
simulated by changing the shape ratio (S= W t/W l), where W t is the trailing edge width and
W l is the leading edge width. The aspect ratio was fixed at AS=(W l+ W t)/2L= 0.4, where L is …