scholarly journals Fluid Dynamics of Biomimetic Pectoral Fin Propulsion Using Immersed Boundary Method

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ningyu Li ◽  
Yumin Su
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reconstruction Algorithm ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Hydrodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Ring Vortex ◽  
Immersed Boundary ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Recovery Stroke

Numerical simulations are carried out to study the fluid dynamics of a complex-shaped low-aspect-ratio pectoral fin that performs the labriform swimming. Simulations of flow around the fin are achieved by a developed immersed boundary (IB) method, in which we have proposed an efficient local flow reconstruction algorithm with enough robustness and a new numerical strategy with excellent adaptability to deal with complex moving boundaries involved in bionic flow simulations. The prescribed fin kinematics in each period consists of the power stroke and the recovery stroke, and the simulations indicate that the former is mainly used to provide the thrust while the latter is mainly used to provide the lift. The fin wake is dominated by a three-dimensional dual-ring vortex wake structure where the partial power-stroke vortex ring is linked to the recovery-stroke ring vertically. Moreover, the connection of force production with the fin kinematics and vortex dynamics is discussed in detail to explore the propulsion mechanism. We also conduct a parametric study to understand how the vortex topology and hydrodynamic characteristics change with key parameters. The results show that there is an optimal phase angle and Strouhal number for this complicated fin. Furthermore, the implications for the design of a bioinspired pectoral fin are discussed based on the quantitative hydrodynamic analysis.

Design and Dynamic Modeling of a Flexible Feathering Joint for Robotic Fish Pectoral Fins

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Bazaz Behbahani ◽  
Xiaobo Tan
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Robotic Fish ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Hydrodynamic Drag ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Flexible Joint ◽  
Blade Element Theory ◽  
Pectoral Fins ◽  
Flexible Part ◽  
Recovery Stroke

In this paper, we propose a novel design for a pectoral fin joint of a robotic fish. This joint uses a flexible part to enable the rowing pectoral fin to feather passively and thus reduce the hydrodynamic drag in the recovery stroke. On the other hand, a mechanical stopper allows the fin to maintain its motion prescribed by the servomotor in the power stroke. The design results in net thrust even when the fin is actuated symmetrically for the power and recovery strokes. A dynamic model for this joint and for a pectoral fin-actuated robotic fish involving such joints is presented. The pectoral fin is modeled as a rigid plate connected to the servo arm through a pair of torsional spring and damper that describes the flexible joint. The hydrodynamic force on the fin is evaluated with blade element theory, where all three components of the force are considered due to the feathering degree of freedom of the fin. Experimental results on robotic fish prototype are provided to support the effectiveness of the design and the presented dynamic model. We utilize three different joints (with different sizes and different flexible materials), produced with a multi-material 3D printer, and measure the feathering angles of the joints and the forward swimming velocities of the robotic fish. Good match between the model predictions and experimental data is achieved, and the advantage of the proposed flexible joint over a rigid joint, where the power and recovery strokes have to be actuated at different speeds to produce thrust, is demonstrated.

Fluid dynamics of flapping aquatic flight in the bird wrasse:three-dimensional unsteady computations with fin deformation

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (19) ◽  
pp. 2997-3008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi Ramamurti ◽  
William C. Sandberg ◽  
Rainald Löhner ◽  
Jeffrey A. Walker ◽  
Mark W. Westneat
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Time History ◽  
The Body ◽  
Vertical Acceleration ◽  
Field Variation ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Pectoral Fins

SUMMARY Many fishes that swim with the paired pectoral fins use fin-stroke parameters that produce thrust force from lift in a mechanism of underwater flight. These locomotor mechanisms are of interest to behavioral biologists,biomechanics researchers and engineers. In the present study, we performed the first three-dimensional unsteady computations of fish swimming with oscillating and deforming fins. The objective of these computations was to investigate the fluid dynamics of force production associated with the flapping aquatic flight of the bird wrasse Gomphosus varius. For this computational work, we used the geometry of the wrasse and its pectoral fin,and previously measured fin kinematics, as the starting points for computational investigation of three-dimensional (3-D) unsteady fluid dynamics. We performed a 3-D steady computation and a complete set of 3-D quasisteady computations for a range of pectoral fin positions and surface velocities. An unstructured, grid-based, unsteady Navier—Stokes solver with automatic adaptive remeshing was then used to compute the unsteady flow about the wrasse through several complete cycles of pectoral fin oscillation. The shape deformation of the pectoral fin throughout the oscillation was taken from the experimental kinematics. The pressure distribution on the body of the bird wrasse and its pectoral fins was computed and integrated to give body and fin forces which were decomposed into lift and thrust. The velocity field variation on the surface of the wrasse body, on the pectoral fins and in the near-wake was computed throughout the swimming cycle. We compared our computational results for the steady, quasi-steady and unsteady cases with the experimental data on axial and vertical acceleration obtained from the pectoral fin kinematics experiments. These comparisons show that steady state computations are incapable of describing the fluid dynamics of flapping fins. Quasi-steady state computations, with correct incorporation of the experimental kinematics, are useful when determining trends in force production, but do not provide accurate estimates of the magnitudes of the forces produced. By contrast, unsteady computations about the deforming pectoral fins using experimentally measured fin kinematics were found to give excellent agreement, both in the time history of force production throughout the flapping strokes and in the magnitudes of the generated forces.

Image Based Simulation of Pulmonary Airflow Using Multi-Level Voxel Modeling

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohsuke Imai ◽  
Takahito Miki ◽  
Masanori Nakamura ◽  
Takuji Ishikawa ◽  
Shigeo Wada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Airflow Obstruction ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Local Domain ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Cfd Method

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) refers to a group of diseases that are characterized by airflow obstruction. Currently, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, but fluid dynamics in airways of COPD patients has not been well understood. Multi-slice Computer Tomography (CT) images provide three-dimensional realistic geometry of patient airways. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis using the patient-specific geometry will greatly help the understanding of the mechanism of COPD. However, few studies have performed such a patient-specific pulmonary airflow simulation. Our aim is to develop a patient-specific CFD method applicable to multi-scale airways, involving trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli. We propose a CFD method using multi-level voxel modeling of airway geometry, in which voxel size in a local domain is adaptively refined or coarsened to the local flow scale.

Three-Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Prediction of Turbocharger Centrifugal Compression System Instabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Dehner ◽  
Ahmet Selamet
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Rotating Stall ◽  
Flow Reversal ◽  
Constant Speed ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Stall Cells

The present work combines experimental measurements and unsteady, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics predictions to gain further insight into the complex flow-field within an automotive turbocharger centrifugal compressor. Flow separation from the suction surface of the main impeller blades first occurs in the mid-flow range, resulting in local flow reversal near the periphery, with the severity increasing with decreasing flow rate. This flow reversal improves leading-edge incidence over the remainder of the annulus, due to (a) reduction of cross-sectional area of forward flow, which increases the axial velocity, and (b) prewhirl in the direction of impeller rotation, as a portion of the tangential velocity of the reversed flow is maintained when it mixes with the core flow and transitions to the forward direction. As the compressor operating point enters the region where the slope of the constant speed compressor characteristic (pressure ratio versus mass flow rate) becomes positive, rotating stall cells appear near the shroud side diffuser wall. The angular propagation speed of the diffuser rotating stall cells is approximately 20% of the shaft speed, generating pressure fluctuations near 20% and 50% of the shaft frequency, which were also experimentally observed. For the present compressor and rotational speed, flow losses associated with diffuser rotating stall are likely the key contributor to increasing the slope of the constant speed compressor performance curve to a positive value, promoting the conditions required for surge instabilities. The present mild surge predictions agree well with the measurements, reproducing the amplitude and period of compressor outlet pressure fluctuations.

Dynamic Analysis of a Robotic Fish Propelled by Flexible Folding Pectoral Fins

Robotica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Van Anh Pham ◽  
Tan Tien Nguyen ◽  
Byung Ryong Lee ◽  
Tuong Quan Vo
Keyword(s):  
Power Stroke ◽  
Swimming Velocity ◽  
Force Model ◽  
Flexible Joints ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Pectoral Fins ◽  
Recovery Stroke ◽  
Turning Radius ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

SUMMARYBiological fish can create high forward swimming speed due to change of thrust/drag area of pectoral fins between power stroke and recovery stroke in rowing mode. In this paper, we proposed a novel type of folding pectoral fins for the fish robot, which provides a simple approach in generating effective thrust only through one degree of freedom of fin actuator. Its structure consists of two elemental fin panels for each pectoral fin that connects to a hinge base through the flexible joints. The Morison force model is adopted to discover the relationship of the dynamic interaction between fin panels and surrounding fluid. An experimental platform for the robot motion using the pectoral fin with different flexible joints was built to validate the proposed design. The results express that the performance of swimming velocity and turning radius of the robot are enhanced effectively. The forward swimming velocity can reach 0.231 m/s (0.58 BL/s) at the frequency near 0.75 Hz. By comparison, we found an accord between the proposed dynamic model and the experimental behavior of the robot. The attained results can be used to design controllers and optimize performances of the robot propelled by the folding pectoral fins.

The Mechanics of Labriform Locomotion I. Labriform Locomotion in the Angelfish (Pterophyllum Eimekei): An Analysis of the Power Stroke

1979 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-271
Author(s):  
R. W. BLAKE
Keyword(s):  
Total Energy ◽  
Thrust Force ◽  
The Body ◽  
Power Stroke ◽  
Pectoral Fin ◽  
Propulsive Efficiency ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Element Approach ◽  
Total Thrust ◽  
Recovery Stroke

1. A blade-element approach is used to analyse the mechanics of the drag-based pectoral fin power stroke in an Angelfish in steady forward, rectilinear progression. 2. Flow reversal occurs at the base of the fin at the beginning and at the end of the power stroke. Values for the rate of increase and decrease in the relative velocity of the blade-elements increase distally, as do such values for hydrodynamical angle of attack. At the beginning and end of the power stroke, negative angles occur at the base of the fin. 3. The outermost 40% of the fin produces over 80% of the total thrust produced during the power stroke, and doe8 over 80% of the total work. Small amounts of reversed thrust are produced at the base of the fin during the early and late parts of the stroke. 4. The total amount of energy required during a cycle to drag the body and inactive fins through the water is calculated to be approximately 2.8 × 10−6 J and the total energy produced by the fins over the cycle (ignoring the recovery stroke) which is associated with producing the hydrodynamic thrust force, is about 1.0 × 10−5 J; which gives a propulsive efficiency of about 0.26. 5. The energy required to move the mass of a pectoral fin during the power stroke is calculated to be approximately 2.6 × 10−7 J. Taking this into account reduces the value of the propulsive efficiency by about 4% to about 0.25. The total energy needed to accelerate and decelerate the added mass associated with the fin is calculated and added to the energy required to produce the hydrodynamic thrust force and the energy required to move the mass of the fins; giving a final propulsive efficiency of 0.18.

Research on the Numerical Simulation of Internal Flow Field and Energy Efficiency of Ventilator

2015 ◽  
Vol 713-715 ◽  
pp. 602-605
Author(s):  
Zhu Jue Tong ◽  
Xiao Ling Wang ◽  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Shu Xing Wu
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Internal Flow ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Gap Flow ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd

In the present study, the effects of ventilator geometries on the its performance were numerically simulated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program. For a certain type ventilator, three-dimensional inner flow field was derived firstly, such as local flow field at the meridional and rotary plane of ventilator, the gap flow between the impeller and air outlet, and the secondary flows in impeller channel were studied in detail, and some suggestions are given to improve the profile of velocity. The above results would be helpful to the optimization and modification of ventilator.

scholarly journals Effects of coral colony morphology on turbulent flow dynamics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Monir Hossain ◽  
Anne E. Staples
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Velocity Profiles ◽  
High Flow ◽  
Flow Dynamics ◽  
Immersed Boundary ◽  
Mean Velocity ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mixing And Transport

AbstractLocal flow dynamics play a central role in physiological processes like respiration and nutrient uptake in coral reefs. Despite the importance of corals as hosts to a quarter of all marine life, and the pervasive threats currently facing corals, little is known about the detailed hydrodynamics of branching coral colonies. Here, in order to investigate the effects of the colony branch density and surface roughness on the local flow field, three-dimensional simulations were performed using immersed boundary, large-eddy simulations for four different colony geometries under low and high unidirectional oncoming flow conditions. The first two colonies were from the Pocillopora genus, one with a densely branched geometry, and one with a comparatively loosely branched geometry. The second pair of colony geometries were derived from a scan of a single Montipora capitata colony, one with the verrucae covering the surface intact, and one with the verrucae removed. We found that the mean velocity profiles in the densely branched colony changed substantially in the middle of the colony, becoming significantly reduced at middle heights where flow penetration was poor, while the mean velocity profiles in the loosely branched colony remained similar in character from the front to the back of the colony, with no middle-range velocity deficit appearing at the center of the colony. When comparing the turbulent flow statistics at the surface of the rough and smooth M. capitata colonies, we found higher Reynolds stress components for the smooth colony, indicating higher rates of mixing and transport compared to the rough colony, which must sacrifice mixing and transport efficiency in order to maintain its surface integrity in its natural high-flow environment. These results suggest that the densely branched, roughly patterned corals found in high flow areas may be more resistant not only to breakage, but also to flow penetration.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document