TY - JOUR
T1 - Hybrid tail excitation for robotic fish
T2 - Modeling and performance analysis
AU - Basta, Ehab
AU - Ghommem, Mehdi
AU - Romdhane, Lotfi
AU - Hajj, Muhammad R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/8/15
Y1 - 2021/8/15
N2 - We investigate the potential of a novel hybrid excitation of the tail for a robotic fish. The tail consists of an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) beam excited at its base. A model of the beam dynamics under base excitation, IPMC actuation mechanism, and hydrodynamic forces is derived. Lighthill's theory of elongated bodies is used to estimate the forward speed from the tail's oscillations and associated power for different tail dimensions and actuation configurations. The model of the robotic fish propelled by only an IPMC actuator is validated using previously reported experimental frequency responses. Our results show that incorporating a small-amplitude base excitation has the potential to significantly improve the forward speed of the robotic fish over a broader range of frequency excitations while consuming minimal additional power. The results also show that this improvement is very significant at specific aspect ratios.
AB - We investigate the potential of a novel hybrid excitation of the tail for a robotic fish. The tail consists of an ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) beam excited at its base. A model of the beam dynamics under base excitation, IPMC actuation mechanism, and hydrodynamic forces is derived. Lighthill's theory of elongated bodies is used to estimate the forward speed from the tail's oscillations and associated power for different tail dimensions and actuation configurations. The model of the robotic fish propelled by only an IPMC actuator is validated using previously reported experimental frequency responses. Our results show that incorporating a small-amplitude base excitation has the potential to significantly improve the forward speed of the robotic fish over a broader range of frequency excitations while consuming minimal additional power. The results also show that this improvement is very significant at specific aspect ratios.
KW - Base excitation
KW - IPMC beam
KW - Propulsion mechanism
KW - Robotic fish
KW - Swimming performance
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U2 - 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.109296
DO - 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.109296
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85109090210
SN - 0029-8018
VL - 234
JO - Ocean Engineering
JF - Ocean Engineering
M1 - 109296
ER -