Experimentation of Fish Swimming Based on Tracking Locomotion Locus

There are many kinds of swimming mode in the fish world, and we investigated two of them, used by cyprinids and bulltrout. In this paper we track the locomotion locus by marks in different flow velocity from 0.2 m·s^-1 to 0.8 m·s^-1. By fit the data above we could find out the locomotion mechanism of the two kinds of fish and generate a mathematical model of fish kine- matics. The cyprinid fish has a greater oscillation period and amplitude compared with the bulltrout, and the bulltrout changes velocity mainly by controlling frequency of oscillation.

Computational Study on Interaction Between Swimming Fish and Drifting Vortices Behind the Cylinder

To predict the flow evolution of fish swimming problems,a flow solver based on the immersed boundary lattice Boltzmann method is developed.A flexible iterative algorithm based on the framework of implicit boundary force correction is used to save the computational cost and memory,and the momentum forcing is described by a simple direct force formula without complicated integral calculation when the velocity correction at the boundary node is determined.With the presented flow solver,the hydrodynamic interaction between the fish-induced dynamic stall vortices and the incoming vortices in unsteady flow is analyzed.Numerical simulation results unveil the mechanism of fish exploiting vortices to enhance their own hydrodynamic performances.The superior swimming performances originate from the relative movement between the“merged vortex”and the locomotion of the fishtail,which is controlled by the phase difference.Formation conditions of the“merged vortex”become the key factor for fish to exploit vortices to improve their swimming performance.We further discuss the effect of the principal components of locomotion.From the results,we conclude that lateral translation plays a crucial role in propulsion while body undulation in tandem with rotation and head motion reduce the locomotor cost.

Biologically-Inspired Water Propulsion System

Most propulsion systems of vehicles travelling in the aquatic environment are equipped with propellers. Observations of nature, however, show that the absolute majority of organisms travel through water using wave motion, paddling or using water jet power. Inspired by these observations of nature, an innovative propulsion system working in aquatic environment was developed. This paper presents the design of the water propulsion system. Particular attention was paid to the use of paddling techniques and water jet power. A group of organisms that use those mechanisms to travel through water was selected and analysed. The results of research were used in the design of a propulsion system modelled simultaneously on two methods of movement in the aquatic environment. A method for modelling a propulsion system using a combination of the two solutions and the result were described. A conceptual design and a prototype constructed based on the solution were presented. With respect to the solution developed, studies and analyses of selected parameters of the prototype were described.

A Novel Undulatory Propulsion Strategy for Underwater Robots

Stingrays can undulate their wide pectoral fins to thrust themselves and swim freely underwater.Many researchers have used bionics to directly imitate their undulating mechanism and manufacture undulatory underwater robots.Based on the limitations of the existing undulatory underwater robots,this paper proposes a novel undulatory propulsion strategy,which aims to use the stingray undulating mechanism more thoroughly.First,the mathematical models of both traditional and novel structures are established to accurately describe their undulating mechanism.Then,based on the dynamic mesh technology,the flow field vortex structure they generated is analyzed through fluid-structure interaction simulation,and the thrust force and lateral force generated by them are calculated,which verified that this novel propulsion strategy is indeed more effective.Finally,a prototype robot based on the improved propulsion strategy is manufactured.Compared with the existing stingray robots,the prototype has obvious advantages,thus verifying the accuracy of the simulation results.

Propulsive Characteristics of Twin Oscillating Airfoils

The bionic propulsion can be used on the aerostat and other automatic vehicles. The general single oscillating tail fin can induce the yawing and whole airship rolling because of the lateral force and the gravity moment of heavier oscillating tail fin. The parallel twin oscillating tail fins by symmetrical swing mode can eliminate the lateral force and gravity moment through the symmetrical swing of the two tail fins. The propulsive characteristics of parallel twin fins have not been investigated up to now. In this paper, we investigated the propulsive characteristics and mechanism of parallel twin oscillating airfoils using consistent and symmetrical swing mode. By using the numerical calculation and analysis, the consistent swing mode may decrease the total propulsion efficiency. While, the symmetrical swing mode can improve the propulsion efficiency and reduce the lateral force and gravity moment. This mode can be used to propel the aerostat and automatic underwater vehicles efficiently.