A SMOOTHED PARTICLE HYDRODYNAMICS METHOD FOR SIMULATING THE MOTION OF MULTI-LINK ROBOTIC FISH-LIKE BODIES: NUMERICAL ASSESSMENT AND HYDRODYNAMIC ANALYSIS
D. Xue1,2, Q. Gao1, Q. Sun1, L. Zhang1, Y. Ni1, L. Shen1
1Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, China
2School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Keywords: multi-link body, robotic fish locomotion, hydroelasticity
Abstract
A computational framework based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for simulating the motion of multi-link fish-like bodies is presented and validated. The framework couples SPH with a multibody dynamics approach to solve the hydroelasticity problem (fluid-structure interaction) for fish-like swimmers. The solver is thoroughly verified against three benchmark problems. Comparison with published numerical results demonstrates that the proposed framework is capable of reproducing the key hydrodynamic features, including reverse Kármán vortex streets, thrust generation mechanisms, and motion-dependent performance characteristics. The developed and validated framework provides a computationally efficient tool for the design, control, and optimization of bio-inspired underwater vehicles.
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