Study on Wing Aspect Ratio on the Performance of a Gliding Robotic Fish

摘要

In this paper, the performance of a gliding robotic fish with different wing aspect ratio is investigated. The gliding robotic fish, developed by Michigan State University, has the energy efficient locomotion of an underwater glider and high maneuverability of a robotic fish. ANSYS Computational Fluid Dynamics turbulence model was used to determine lift and drag coefficients for various wing aspect ratios at different angle of attack. Subsequently, the corresponding glide angle and velocity were determined analytically based on its dynamic model. The simulation results compare well with published experimental data and shows that the drag and lift coefficients are inversely proportional to the wing aspect ratio. As such, a gliding robotic fish with a low wing aspect ratio is suitable for shallow waters only, due to the high lift forces generated for a given angle of attack, requiring greater energy to sustain the glide velocity and vice versa.