Swimming performance of a bio-inspired robotic vessel with undulating fin propulsion

Undulatory fin propulsion exhibits a high degree of maneuver control-an ideal feature for underwater vessels exploring complex environments. In this work, we developed and tested a self-contained, free-swimming robot with a single undulating fin running along the length of the robot, which controls both forward motion and directional maneuvers. We successfully replicated several maneuvers including forward swimming, reversed motion, diving, station-keeping and vertical swimming. For each maneuver, a series of experiments was performed as a function of fin frequency, wavelength and traveling wave direction to measure swimming velocities, orientation angles and mean power consumption. In addition, 3D flow fields were measured during forward swimming and station-keeping using volumetric particle image velocimetry (PIV). The efficiency for forward swimming was compared using three metrics: cost of transport, wave efficiency and Strouhal number (St). The results indicate that the cost of transport exhibits a V-shape trend with the minimum value at low swimming velocity. The robot reaches optimal wave efficiency and locomotor performance at a range of 0.2-0.4 St. Volumetric PIV data reveal the shed of vortex tubes generated by the fin during forward swimming and station keeping. For forward swimming, a series of vortex tubes are shed off the fin edge with a lateral and downward direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fin. For station keeping, flow measurements suggest that the vortex tubes are shed at the mid-section of the fin while the posterior and anterior segment of the vortex stay attached to the fin. These results agree with the previous vortex structures based on simulations and 2D PIV. The development of this vessel with high maneuverability and station keeping performance has applications for oceanography, coastal exploration, defense, the oil industry and other marine industries where operations are unsafe or impractical for divers or human-piloted vessels.