Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Curet, Oscar M.

Abstract

A bio-inspired robotic underwater vessel was developed to test the effect of fin morphology on the propulsive performance of caudal fin. The robotic vessel, called The Bullet Fish, features a cylindrical body with a hemisphere at the forward section and a conical body at the stern. The vessel uses an oscillating caudal fin for thrust generation. The robotic vessel was tested in a recirculating flume for seven different caudal fins that range different bio-inspired forms and aspect ratios. The experiments were performed at four different flow velocities and two flapping frequencies: 0.5 and 1.0 Hz. We found that for 1 Hz flapping frequency that in general as the aspect-ratio decreases both thrust production tends and power decrease resulting in a better propulsive efficiency for aspect ratios between 0.9 and 1.0. A less uniform trend was found for 0.5 Hz, where our data suggest multiple efficiency peaks. Additional experiments on the robotic model could help understand the propulsion aquatic locomotion and help the design of bio-inspired underwater vehicles.

Extent

71p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004944

Format

pdf

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