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Underwater Biomimetic Propulsion Using Coupled Structures

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Abstract

Purpose

Fishes like Mackerel, salmon and trout have been a great inspiration for effective underwater propulsion. Their propulsion mechanism involves flap** the posterior body members. Fish actively modify the stiffness of these members to meet various swimming requirements.

Methods

In this study, two posterior body parts of a fish, namely the peduncle and the caudal fin, are analysed for biomimetic propulsion. These members are modelled as Euler–Bernoulli beams and appropriate stiffeners are introduced at their joints. The surrounding fluid domain is modelled using potential flow theory. The fluid–structure interaction results in an added-mass effect. The mean propulsive thrust depends on the tip velocity of the flap** structure, and hence, it could be maximised by increasing the peak response bandwidth.

Results

This work presents the sensitive range of the stiffness parameters, such as the stiffness of the members and the coupling stiffeners, which are essential for thrust augmentation. The resonance of the system is discussed for various peduncle–caudal dimensions observed in salmon fish.

Conclusion

The study presents the theoretical modelling of peduncle–fin-inspired coupled structures for underwater propulsion. The results highlight the potential for improving thrust by appropriately adjusting the structural stiffness parameters.

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Data availability

Data is available on request from the authors.

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Funding

Authors gratefully acknowledge the support and funding received for the work from the NRB, India, under project no. NRB/4003/PG/1611/D(R &D), NRB/456/19-20.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, WB, 721302, India

    Navinder Singh Bhamra, Kiran Vijayan & Vishwanath Nagarajan

Authors
  1. Navinder Singh Bhamra
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  2. Kiran Vijayan
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  3. Vishwanath Nagarajan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiran Vijayan.

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Bhamra, N.S., Vijayan, K. & Nagarajan, V. Underwater Biomimetic Propulsion Using Coupled Structures. J. Vib. Eng. Technol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42417-023-01212-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42417-023-01212-z

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