Developing a four-axis cyber-physical traverse system for highly dynamic experimental fluid mechanics studies

Abstract

Traditional experimental methods, including stationary, non-dynamic test configurations and tedious switching of mechanical components, create barriers to discovery in fluid mechanics. We created a four-axis cyber-physical system (CPS) to break those barriers. Our CPS can perform experiments dynamically and test a massive range of physical systems with only the aid of a computer. In creating the CPS, we first defined the logic process of properly replicating a purely physical system. We created a single-axis CPS to test the validity of our process and gain crucial knowledge of the hardware and software needed to make the four-axis CPS. Once the CPS was sufficiently developed, we performed validation of the system’s active and passive modes. We began an additional energy harvesting experiment, and the system is equipped to perform many future studies