Hydrodynamic development of a bionic pectoral fin for undersea monitoring platform

Abstract

Hydrodynamic development of a bionic pectoral fin for undersea monitoring platformBionic pectoral fins play an essential role in achieving the superior swimming ability of the bio-inspired undersea monitoring platform by producing desired movements and propulsion forces. This paper discusses the hydrodynamic modeling and experiments of a bionic pectoral fin inspired by the cownose ray. A simplified hydrodynamic model of the oscillatory bionic pectoral fin is built. A physical prototype of the bionic pectoral fin is developed based on the structure and movement parameters extracted from the cownose ray. Performances of the bionic pectoral fin in producing lift force and propulsion force are tested using a towing tank experimental platform and compared with the results from corresponding simulations. Feasibility of the hydrodynamic simulation and the bionic design method are verified.

A Manta Ray Robot with Soft Material Based Flapping Wing

“…In this section, the drag force variance between the manta ray robot and Blue ROV at different swimming speeds is studied. For much previous research [24,25], the manta ray model is simplified to a streamlined body with a pair of wings. Although the frontal nose, tail, and surface roughness of manta ray could be considered significant in specific circumstances, most manta ray robots are not the same as a real manta ray.…”