Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters
Among the new technologies in marine robotics is the trend toward smaller, cheaper and highly maneuverable vehicles, which could operate in swarms and also in very narrow and cluttered environments. A key challenge for vehicles with characteristic length of tens of centimeters scale is propulsion, w...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78633 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2621-7633 |
| _version_ | 1826189542639534080 |
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| author | Tan, A. C. H. Hover, Franz S. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Tan, A. C. H. Hover, Franz S. |
| author_sort | Tan, A. C. H. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Among the new technologies in marine robotics is the trend toward smaller, cheaper and highly maneuverable vehicles, which could operate in swarms and also in very narrow and cluttered environments. A key challenge for vehicles with characteristic length of tens of centimeters scale is propulsion, where the designer faces high complexity in small vehicular space, as well as fouling concerns. Toward this end, we review and characterize the ultrasonic thruster (UST), which may be an attractive alternative to rotary and biomimetic-type actuators. The UST is a piezoelectric transducer that generates high-power, high-frequency acoustic waves, to produce bulk fluid movement for propulsion. We have systematically measured thrust and flow characteristics for a 7mm-diameter transducer with a range of voltages and sinusoidal frequencies, and varying duty cycles for a rectangular source signal; further, we installed three transducers into a 21cm underwater vehicle prototype. The experimental results allow us to outline the major parameters and considerations in our small vehicle and infer the mission length and speed using the UST technology. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:16:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/78633 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:16:30Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/786332022-09-30T08:44:52Z Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters Tan, A. C. H. Hover, Franz S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Tan, A. C. H. Hover, Franz S. Among the new technologies in marine robotics is the trend toward smaller, cheaper and highly maneuverable vehicles, which could operate in swarms and also in very narrow and cluttered environments. A key challenge for vehicles with characteristic length of tens of centimeters scale is propulsion, where the designer faces high complexity in small vehicular space, as well as fouling concerns. Toward this end, we review and characterize the ultrasonic thruster (UST), which may be an attractive alternative to rotary and biomimetic-type actuators. The UST is a piezoelectric transducer that generates high-power, high-frequency acoustic waves, to produce bulk fluid movement for propulsion. We have systematically measured thrust and flow characteristics for a 7mm-diameter transducer with a range of voltages and sinusoidal frequencies, and varying duty cycles for a rectangular source signal; further, we installed three transducers into a 21cm underwater vehicle prototype. The experimental results allow us to outline the major parameters and considerations in our small vehicle and infer the mission length and speed using the UST technology. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. Center for Environmental Sensing and Monitoring 2013-04-29T19:45:36Z 2013-04-29T19:45:36Z 2010-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper 978-1-4244-4333-8 978-1-4244-4332-1 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78633 Tan, A. C. H., and F. S. Hover. Thrust and Wake Characterization in Small, Robust Ultrasonic Thrusters. In Pp. 1–9. 2010, IEEE. © Copyright 2010 IEEE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2621-7633 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS.2010.5664263 OCEANS 2010 Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) IEEE |
| spellingShingle | Tan, A. C. H. Hover, Franz S. Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title | Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title_full | Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title_fullStr | Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title_short | Thrust and wake characterization in small, robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| title_sort | thrust and wake characterization in small robust ultrasonic thrusters |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78633 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2621-7633 |
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