Journal of Bionic Engineering ›› 2020, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (1): 123-133.doi: 10.1007/s42235-020-0010-y

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Hydrodynamic Analysis and Verification of an Innovative Whale Shark-like Underwater Glider

Huijie Dong1,2, Zhengxing Wu1,2, Min Tan1,2, Junzhi Yu1,3*#br#

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  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Beijing 100190, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, BIC-ESAT,
    College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China 

  • 收稿日期:2019-11-07 修回日期:2019-12-01 接受日期:2019-12-12 出版日期:2020-01-10 发布日期:2020-01-21
  • 通讯作者: Junzhi Yu E-mail:junzhi.yu@ia.ac.cn
  • 作者简介:Huijie Dong1,2, Zhengxing Wu1,2, Min Tan1,2, Junzhi Yu1,3*

Hydrodynamic Analysis and Verification of an Innovative Whale Shark-like Underwater Glider

Huijie Dong1,2, Zhengxing Wu1,2, Min Tan1,2, Junzhi Yu1,3*#br#

#br#
  

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Beijing 100190, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex Systems, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, BIC-ESAT,
    College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China 

  • Received:2019-11-07 Revised:2019-12-01 Accepted:2019-12-12 Online:2020-01-10 Published:2020-01-21
  • Contact: Junzhi Yu E-mail:junzhi.yu@ia.ac.cn
  • About author:Huijie Dong1,2, Zhengxing Wu1,2, Min Tan1,2, Junzhi Yu1,3*

摘要: This paper presents an innovative design for a biomimetic whale shark-like underwater glider aiming at the combination of high
maneuverability and long duration. As a hybrid of the underwater glider and the robotic fish, its pectoral fins and tail can serve as not only
the external control surfaces for attitude regulation during gliding but also the propellers for agile fish-like swimming mode. To verify the
gliding capability of the whale shark-like glider and prepare for future dynamic analysis, the hydrodynamic coefficients, including drag,
lift, sliding force, and corresponding moments are estimated through computational fluid dynamics method. In addition, the hydrodynamic
analyses of the proposed glider and an equivalent conventional glider during steady gliding motion are executed for comparison. Extended
experiments are performed to verify the downward gliding performance. The results reveal that the whale shark-like glider has less drag
as well as higher lift-to-drag ratio and a markable gliding capability in practice. It may offer important inspiration for improving the gliding
efficiency and performance of an underwater glider in biomimetic shape design. 


关键词: biomimetic robot, CFD, hydrodynamic analysis, underwater glider 

Abstract: This paper presents an innovative design for a biomimetic whale shark-like underwater glider aiming at the combination of high
maneuverability and long duration. As a hybrid of the underwater glider and the robotic fish, its pectoral fins and tail can serve as not only
the external control surfaces for attitude regulation during gliding but also the propellers for agile fish-like swimming mode. To verify the
gliding capability of the whale shark-like glider and prepare for future dynamic analysis, the hydrodynamic coefficients, including drag,
lift, sliding force, and corresponding moments are estimated through computational fluid dynamics method. In addition, the hydrodynamic
analyses of the proposed glider and an equivalent conventional glider during steady gliding motion are executed for comparison. Extended
experiments are performed to verify the downward gliding performance. The results reveal that the whale shark-like glider has less drag
as well as higher lift-to-drag ratio and a markable gliding capability in practice. It may offer important inspiration for improving the gliding
efficiency and performance of an underwater glider in biomimetic shape design. 


Key words: biomimetic robot, CFD, hydrodynamic analysis, underwater glider