Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance

The demand for high-performance underwater thrusters in marine engineering is increasing. The concealed, mobile, and efficient underwater ability of fish provides many directions for research. The black ghost knifefish uses only wavy ventral fins to swim and can hover and roll in the water. Based on...

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Main Authors: Jie Zhou, Nan Yu, Song Liu, Linbo Xin, Yuhui Liu, Guowei Gao, Zhonglai Na, Xuyan Hou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2023-01-01
Series:Applied Bionics and Biomechanics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/7831175
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author Jie Zhou
Nan Yu
Song Liu
Linbo Xin
Yuhui Liu
Guowei Gao
Zhonglai Na
Xuyan Hou
author_facet Jie Zhou
Nan Yu
Song Liu
Linbo Xin
Yuhui Liu
Guowei Gao
Zhonglai Na
Xuyan Hou
author_sort Jie Zhou
collection DOAJ
description The demand for high-performance underwater thrusters in marine engineering is increasing. The concealed, mobile, and efficient underwater ability of fish provides many directions for research. The black ghost knifefish uses only wavy ventral fins to swim and can hover and roll in the water. Based on the physiological and morphological characteristics of the black ghost knifefish, we explored the structure and movement mode of the ventral fin, so as to establish a two-degree of freedom (2-DOF) structural model and kinematic model. We reveal the motion mechanism of the undulating fin propulsion through the constructed model and computational fluid dynamics. It is found that when the fin surface fluctuates, a pair of vortices with opposite directions will be formed on the concave side of the fin surface. These vortices will produce a central jet on the fin surface, provide a reverse impulse for the ventral fin, and make the fin obtain power. In addition, we found that the propulsive force of the ribbon fin along the body direction is positively correlated with the swing amplitude and frequency of the fin movement, and the propulsive torque of the ribbon fin to realize the maneuvering movement increases first and then decreases with the increase of the torsion angle. The research on the structure and motion mechanism of the ribbon fin of the black ghost knifefish provides a basis for the development of a bionic prototype of multi-DOF motion and the control strategy of high-mobility motion.
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spelling doaj.art-f193eda63e444e13b886e8448b7903252023-07-07T00:00:01ZengHindawi LimitedApplied Bionics and Biomechanics1754-21032023-01-01202310.1155/2023/7831175Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion PerformanceJie Zhou0Nan Yu1Song Liu2Linbo Xin3Yuhui Liu4Guowei Gao5Zhonglai Na6Xuyan Hou7State Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemState Key Laboratory of Robotics and SystemThe demand for high-performance underwater thrusters in marine engineering is increasing. The concealed, mobile, and efficient underwater ability of fish provides many directions for research. The black ghost knifefish uses only wavy ventral fins to swim and can hover and roll in the water. Based on the physiological and morphological characteristics of the black ghost knifefish, we explored the structure and movement mode of the ventral fin, so as to establish a two-degree of freedom (2-DOF) structural model and kinematic model. We reveal the motion mechanism of the undulating fin propulsion through the constructed model and computational fluid dynamics. It is found that when the fin surface fluctuates, a pair of vortices with opposite directions will be formed on the concave side of the fin surface. These vortices will produce a central jet on the fin surface, provide a reverse impulse for the ventral fin, and make the fin obtain power. In addition, we found that the propulsive force of the ribbon fin along the body direction is positively correlated with the swing amplitude and frequency of the fin movement, and the propulsive torque of the ribbon fin to realize the maneuvering movement increases first and then decreases with the increase of the torsion angle. The research on the structure and motion mechanism of the ribbon fin of the black ghost knifefish provides a basis for the development of a bionic prototype of multi-DOF motion and the control strategy of high-mobility motion.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/7831175
spellingShingle Jie Zhou
Nan Yu
Song Liu
Linbo Xin
Yuhui Liu
Guowei Gao
Zhonglai Na
Xuyan Hou
Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
Applied Bionics and Biomechanics
title Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
title_full Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
title_fullStr Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
title_full_unstemmed Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
title_short Inspired by the Black Ghost Knifefish: Bionic Design of Undulatory Fin with 2-DOF Rays and Its Propulsion Performance
title_sort inspired by the black ghost knifefish bionic design of undulatory fin with 2 dof rays and its propulsion performance
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/7831175
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