Biological systems offer novel and efficient solutions to many engineering applications, including marine propulsion. It is of interest to determine how fish interact with the water around them, and how best to utilize the potential their methods offer. A stingray-like fin was chosen for analysis due to the maneuverability and versatility of stingrays.
The stingray fin was modeled in 2D as a sinusoidal wave with an amplitude increasing from zero at the leading edge to a maximum at the trailing edge. Using this model, a parametric study was performed to examine the effects of the fin on surrounding water in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results were analyzed both qualitatively, in terms of the pressure contours on the fin and vorticity in the trailing wake, and quantitatively, in terms of the resultant forces and the mechanical power requirements to actuate the desired fin motion. The average thrust was shown to depend primarily on the relationship between the swimming speed and the frequency and wavelength (which both are directly proportional to the wavespeed of the fin), although amplitude can be used to augment thrust production as well. However, acceleration was shown to significantly correlate with a large variation in lift and moment, as well as with greater power losses.
Using results from the parametric study, the potential for power regeneration was also examined. Relationships between frequency, velocity, drag, and power input were determined using nonlinear regression that explained more than 99.8% of the data. The actuator for a fin was modeled as a single DC motor-shaft system, allowing the combination of the energetic effects of the motor with the fin-fluid system. When combined, even a non-ideal fin model was able to regenerate more power at a given flow speed than was required to swim at the same speed. Even in a more realistic setting, this high proportion of regenerative power suggests that regeneration and energy harvesting could be both feasible and useful in a mission setting. / Master of Science / Animals interact with the world much differently than engineered systems, and can offer new and efficient ways to solve engineering problems, including underwater vehicles. To learn how to move an underwater vehicle in an environmentally conscious way, it is useful to study how a fish’s movements affect the manner in which it moves through the water. Through careful study, the principles involved can be implemented for an efficient, low-disturbance underwater vehicle. The particular fish chosen for in-depth study was the stingray, due to its maneuverability and ability to travel close to the seafloor without disturbing the sediment and creatures around it.
In this work, computational analysis was performed on a model of a single stingray fin to determine how the motion of the fin affects the water around it, and how the water affects the fin in turn. The results were analyzed both in terms of the wake behind the fin and in terms of how much power was required to make the fin move in a particular way. The speed of the fin motion was found to have the strongest effect in controlling swimming speed, although the lateral motion of the fin also helped with accelerating faster.
Additionally, the potential for a robotic stingray fin to harness power from the water around it was examined. Based on results from simulations of the fin, a mathematical model was formulated to relate energy harvesting with the flow speed past the fin. This model was used to determine how worthwhile it was to use energy harvesting. Analysis of the model showed that harvesting energy from the water was quite efficient, and would likely be a worthwhile investment for an exploration mission.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/78377 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Gater, Brittany L. |
| Contributors | Mechanical Engineering, Bayandor, Javid, Southward, Steve, Battaglia, Francine |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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