Conference proceeding
Understanding the Hydrodynamics of Swimming: From Fish Fins to Flexible Propulsors for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
MINING SMARTNESS FROM NATURE, Vol.58, p193
Advances in Science and Technology
01 Jan 2009
Abstract
The research effort described here is concerned with developing a maneuvering propulsor for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV's) based on the mechanical design and performance of sunfish pectoral fin. Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) are highly maneuverable bony fishes that have been the subject of a number of experimental analyses of locomotor function [5, 6]. Although swimming generally involves the coordinated movement of many fin surfaces, the sunfish is capable of propulsion and maneuvering using almost exclusively the pectoral fins. They use pectoral fins exclusively for propulsion at speeds of less than 1.1 body length per second (BL/s). The curve in Fig. 1 depicts two peaks of body acceleration of bluegill sunfish during steady forward swimming. These abilities are the direct result of their pectoral fins being highly deformable control surfaces that can create vectored thrust. The motivation here is that by understanding these complex, highly controlled movements and by borrowing appropriately from pectoral fin design, a bio-robotic propulsor can be designed to provide vectored thrust and high levels of control to AUVs. This paper will focus on analyses of bluegill sunfish's pectoral fin hydrodynamics which were carried out to guide the design of a flexible propulsor for AUV's.
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Details
- Title
- Understanding the Hydrodynamics of Swimming: From Fish Fins to Flexible Propulsors for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
- Creators
- Meliha Bozkurttas - Exa Corp, Burlington, MA 01803 USAJames Tangorra - Drexel Univ, Dept Engn Mech, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USAGeorge Lauder - Harvard Univ, Museum Comparat Zool, Cambridge, MD 02138 USARajat Mittal - George Washington Univ, Dept Mech & Aerosp Engn, Washington, DC 20052 USA
- Contributors
- P Vincenzini (Editor)S Graziani (Editor)
- Publication Details
- MINING SMARTNESS FROM NATURE, Vol.58, p193
- Series
- Advances in Science and Technology
- Publisher
- Trans Tech Publications Ltd
- Number of pages
- 3
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
- Identifiers
- 991019170460004721
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- Industry collaboration
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- Web of Science research areas
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Materials Science, Biomaterials
- Robotics