The Optimization of a Dual Foil Flapping Device

Abstract

Aquatic animals, such as dolphins and tuna, have the ability to swim and maneuver at much greater capacity than any man-made device. If their propulsion methods could be replicated mechanically, the benefits to underwater propulsion would be great. A dual foil pitching-plunging device is used to replicate the basic swimming motion of a dolphin. Numerical simulations are used to predict the behavior of a single foil configuration and its wake. The numerical results are used to predict the behavior of the device and to better direct the experimental study. Experimentally, both a single and dual foil configuration are optimized, with the goal being to determine the optimal conditions for maximizing aft foil thrust production.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA418218

Entities

People

  • Craigh J. Paganucci

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Buoyancy
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Sets
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Flow Visualization
  • Fluid Flow
  • Free Stream
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Measurement
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Production
  • Simulations
  • Steady State
  • Strain Gages
  • Underwater Propulsion

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Marine Hydrodynamics