Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin
In this work, numerical simulations are conducted to reveal the hydrodynamic mechanism of caudal fin propulsion. In the modeling of a bionic caudal fin, a universal kinematics model with three degrees of freedom is adopted and the flexible deformation in the spanwise direction is considered. Navier-...
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doaj-b29a718fd0d549df97882fd5a258233d2020-11-25T01:31:59ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172016-01-01611510.3390/app6010015app6010015Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal FinKai Zhou0Junkao Liu1Weishan Chen2State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaIn this work, numerical simulations are conducted to reveal the hydrodynamic mechanism of caudal fin propulsion. In the modeling of a bionic caudal fin, a universal kinematics model with three degrees of freedom is adopted and the flexible deformation in the spanwise direction is considered. Navier-Stokes equations are used to solve the unsteady fluid flow and dynamic mesh method is applied to track the locomotion. The force coefficients, torque coefficient, and flow field characteristics are extracted and analyzed. Then the thrust efficiency is calculated. In order to verify validity and feasibility of the algorithm, hydrodynamic performance of flapping foil is analyzed. The present results of flapping foil compare well with those in experimental researches. After that, the influences of amplitude of angle of attack, amplitude of heave motion, Strouhal number, and spanwise flexibility are analyzed. The results show that, the performance can be improved by adjusting the motion and flexibility parameters. The spanwise flexibility of caudal fin can increase thrust force with high propulsive efficiency.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/6/1/15biological fluid dynamicsnumerical simulationcaudal fin propulsionspanwise flexibility |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kai Zhou Junkao Liu Weishan Chen |
spellingShingle |
Kai Zhou Junkao Liu Weishan Chen Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin Applied Sciences biological fluid dynamics numerical simulation caudal fin propulsion spanwise flexibility |
author_facet |
Kai Zhou Junkao Liu Weishan Chen |
author_sort |
Kai Zhou |
title |
Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin |
title_short |
Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin |
title_full |
Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin |
title_fullStr |
Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Numerical Study on Hydrodynamic Performance of Bionic Caudal Fin |
title_sort |
numerical study on hydrodynamic performance of bionic caudal fin |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Applied Sciences |
issn |
2076-3417 |
publishDate |
2016-01-01 |
description |
In this work, numerical simulations are conducted to reveal the hydrodynamic mechanism of caudal fin propulsion. In the modeling of a bionic caudal fin, a universal kinematics model with three degrees of freedom is adopted and the flexible deformation in the spanwise direction is considered. Navier-Stokes equations are used to solve the unsteady fluid flow and dynamic mesh method is applied to track the locomotion. The force coefficients, torque coefficient, and flow field characteristics are extracted and analyzed. Then the thrust efficiency is calculated. In order to verify validity and feasibility of the algorithm, hydrodynamic performance of flapping foil is analyzed. The present results of flapping foil compare well with those in experimental researches. After that, the influences of amplitude of angle of attack, amplitude of heave motion, Strouhal number, and spanwise flexibility are analyzed. The results show that, the performance can be improved by adjusting the motion and flexibility parameters. The spanwise flexibility of caudal fin can increase thrust force with high propulsive efficiency. |
topic |
biological fluid dynamics numerical simulation caudal fin propulsion spanwise flexibility |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/6/1/15 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT kaizhou numericalstudyonhydrodynamicperformanceofbioniccaudalfin AT junkaoliu numericalstudyonhydrodynamicperformanceofbioniccaudalfin AT weishanchen numericalstudyonhydrodynamicperformanceofbioniccaudalfin |
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1725084024498552832 |