Computational and experimental study on dynamics behavior of a bionic underwater robot with multi-flexible caudal fins
ISSN: 0143-991X
Article publication date: 13 December 2017
Issue publication date: 9 April 2018
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a novel type of bionic underwater robot (BUR) with multi-flexible caudal fins. With the coordinate movement of multi-caudal fins, BUR will combine the undulation propulsion mode of carangiform fish and jet propulsion mode of jellyfish together organically. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and experimental method helps to reveal the effect of caudal fin stiffness and motion parameters on its hydrodynamic forces.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the prototype of BUR was given by mimicking the shape and propulsion mechanism of both carangiform fish and jellyfish. Besides, the kinematics models in both undulation and jet propulsion modes were established. Then, the effects of caudal fin stiffness on its hydrodynamic forces were investigated based on the CFD method. Finally, an experimental set-up was developed to test and verify the effects of the caudal fin stiffness on its hydrodynamic forces under different caudal fin actuation frequency and amplitude.
Findings
The results of this paper demonstrate that BUR with multi-flexible caudal fins combines the hydrodynamic characteristics of undulation and jet propulsion modes. In addition, the caudal fin with medium stiffness can generate larger thrust force and reduce the reactive power.
Practical implications
This paper implies that robotic fish can be equipped with both undulation and jet propulsion modes to optimize the swimming performance in the future.
Originality/value
This paper provides a BUR with multi-propulsion modes, which has the merits of high propulsion efficiency, high acceleration performance and overcome the head shaken problem effectively.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is financially supported by Science and Technology Planning Project of Suzhou, China (Grant no. SNG2017054), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51477109), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51305287).
Citation
Xie, O., Li, B. and Yan, Q. (2018), "Computational and experimental study on dynamics behavior of a bionic underwater robot with multi-flexible caudal fins", Industrial Robot, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 267-274. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-06-2017-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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