Fluid Dynamic performance of Euplectella aspergillum: drawing inspiration from deep-sea glass sponges for engineering design

We analyze in detail the fluid dynamic performance of the deep-sea glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum through very large-scale simulations carried out on the Italian HPC facility of CINECA, "Marconi100". We employ the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) to describe the fluid dynamic field at various Reynolds number, from Re = 100 to Re = 2000, with a space resolution of 0.2 mm, considering the complete geometry of E. aspergillum and four simplified models, derived from the morphology of the deep-sea sponge. We detail the formation of coherent fluid-dynamic structures downstream the geometries and within the body-cavity, and the role of the sponge skeletal motifs on the formation of such patterns. The results will have broad repercussions for engineering applications, from the design of aero-naval structures with reduced drag to the realization of novel chemical reactors and slender skyscrapers.