Study on Wing Aspect Ratio on the Performance of a Gliding Robotic Fish

Abstract:

In this paper, the performance of a gliding robotic fish with different wing aspect ratio is investigated. The gliding robotic fish, developed by Michigan State University, has the energy efficient locomotion of an underwater glider and high maneuverability of a robotic fish. ANSYS Computational Fluid Dynamics turbulence model was used to determine lift and drag coefficients for various wing aspect ratios at different angle of attack. Subsequently, the corresponding glide angle and velocity were determined analytically based on its dynamic model. The simulation results compare well with published experimental data and shows that the drag and lift coefficients are inversely proportional to the wing aspect ratio. As such, a gliding robotic fish with a low wing aspect ratio is suitable for shallow waters only, due to the high lift forces generated for a given angle of attack, requiring greater energy to sustain the glide velocity and vice versa.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 786)
• Pages: 248-253
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.786.248
• Online since: August 2015
• Authors: Javaid Muhammad Yasar*, Ovinis Mark, T. Nagarajan, Syed Saad Azhar Ali, Ullah Barkat
• Keywords: CFD Simulation, Glider Performance, Hydrodynamics Modeling, Underwater Glider

References

[1] X. Tan, Autonomous robotic fish as mobile sensor platforms: Challenges and potential solutions, Marine Technology Society Journal, vol. 45, pp.31-40, (2011).

DOI: 10.4031/mtsj.45.4.2

[2] F. Zhang, J. Thon, C. Thon, and X. Tan, Miniature underwater glider: Design, modeling, and experimental results, in Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2012 IEEE International Conference on, 2012, pp.4904-4910.

DOI: 10.1109/icra.2012.6225264

[3] F. Zhang, J. Thon, C. Thon, and X. Tan, Miniature Underwater Glider: Design and Experimental Results, (2014).

DOI: 10.1109/icra.2012.6225264

[4] F. Zhang, F. Zhang, and X. Tan, Steady spiraling motion of gliding robotic fish, in Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2012 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on, 2012, pp.1754-1759.

DOI: 10.1109/iros.2012.6385860

[5] S. Zhang, J. Yu, A. Zhang, and F. Zhang, Spiraling motion of underwater gliders: Modeling, analysis, and experimental results, Ocean Engineering, vol. 60, pp.1-13, (2013).

DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2012.12.023

[6] N. E. Leonard and J. G. Graver, Model-based feedback control of autonomous underwater gliders, Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Journal of, vol. 26, pp.633-645, (2001).

DOI: 10.1109/48.972106

[7] J. G. Graver, Underwater gliders: Dynamics, control and design, Citeseer, (2005).

[8] J. Graver, J. Liu, C. Woolsey, and N. E. Leonard, Design and analysis of an underwater vehicle for controlled gliding, in Proc. 32nd Conference on Information Sciences and Systems, 1998, pp.801-806.

[9] D. T. Greenwood, Principles of dynamics: Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ, (1988).

[10] J. S. Geisbert, Hydrodynamic modeling for autonomous underwater vehicles using computational and semi-empirical methods, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, (2007).

[11] F. I. Fluent 6. 1 User's Guide.

[12] P. Jagadeesh, K. Murali, and V. Idichandy, Experimental investigation of hydrodynamic force coefficients over AUV hull form, Ocean Engineering, vol. 36, pp.113-118, (2009).

DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2008.11.008

[13] A. Sohankar, C. Norberg, and L. Davidson, Low‐Reynolds‐number flow around a square cylinder at incidence: study of blockage, onset of vortex shedding and outlet boundary condition, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, vol. 26, pp.39-56, (1998).

DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0363(19980115)26:1<39::aid-fld623>3.0.co;2-p

[14] M. F. bin Ibrahim, M. Ovinis, and K. bin Shehabuddeen, An Underwater Glider for Subsea Intervention: A Technical Feasibility Study, Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 393, pp.561-566, (2013).

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.393.561

[15] M. Y. Javaid, M. Ovinis, T. Nagarajan, and F. B. Hashim, Underwater Gliders: A Review, in MATEC Web of Conferences, 2014, p.02020.

DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/20141302020

[16] M. Grund, L. Freitag, J. Preisig, and K. Ball, The PLUSNet underwater communications system: acoustic telemetry for undersea surveillance, in OCEANS 2006, 2006, pp.1-5.

DOI: 10.1109/oceans.2006.307036

[17] S. A. Jenkins, D. E. Humphreys, J. Sherman, J. Osse, C. Jones, N. Leonard, et al., Underwater glider system study, (2003).