1,491 research outputs found
Geometric control of particle manipulation in a two-dimensional fluid
Manipulation of particles suspended in fluids is crucial for many applications, such as precision machining, chemical processes, bio-engineering, and self-feeding of microorganisms. In this paper, we study the problem of particle manipulation by cyclic fluid boundary excitations from a geometric-control viewpoint. We focus on the simplified problem of manipulating a single particle by generating controlled cyclic motion of a circular rigid body in a two-dimensional perfect fluid. We show that the drift in the particle location after one cyclic motion of the body can be interpreted as the geometric phase of a connection induced by the system's hydrodynamics. We then formulate the problem as a control system, and derive a geometric criterion for its nonlinear controllability. Moreover, by exploiting the geometric structure of the system, we explicitly construct a feedback-based gait that results in attraction of the particle towards the rigid body. We argue that our gait is robust and model-independent, and demonstrate it in both perfect fluid and Stokes fluid
Simulations of propelling and energy harvesting articulated bodies via vortex particle-mesh methods
The emergence and understanding of new design paradigms that exploit flow
induced mechanical instabilities for propulsion or energy harvesting demands
robust and accurate flow structure interaction numerical models. In this
context, we develop a novel two dimensional algorithm that combines a Vortex
Particle-Mesh (VPM) method and a Multi-Body System (MBS) solver for the
simulation of passive and actuated structures in fluids. The hydrodynamic
forces and torques are recovered through an innovative approach which crucially
complements and extends the projection and penalization approach of Coquerelle
et al. and Gazzola et al. The resulting method avoids time consuming
computation of the stresses at the wall to recover the force distribution on
the surface of complex deforming shapes. This feature distinguishes the
proposed approach from other VPM formulations. The methodology was verified
against a number of benchmark results ranging from the sedimentation of a 2D
cylinder to a passive three segmented structure in the wake of a cylinder. We
then showcase the capabilities of this method through the study of an energy
harvesting structure where the stocking process is modeled by the use of
damping elements
Dynamics of Connected Rigid Bodies in a Perfect Fluid
This paper presents an analytical model and a geometric numerical integrator
for a system of rigid bodies connected by ball joints, immersed in an
irrotational and incompressible fluid. The rigid bodies can translate and
rotate in three-dimensional space, and each joint has three rotational degrees
of freedom. This model characterizes the qualitative behavior of
three-dimensional fish locomotion. A geometric numerical integrator, refereed
to as a Lie group variational integrator, preserves Hamiltonian structures of
the presented model and its Lie group configuration manifold. These properties
are illustrated by a numerical simulation for a system of three connected rigid
bodies.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Ultra-fast escape maneuver of an octopus-inspired robot
We design and test an octopus-inspired flexible hull robot that demonstrates
outstanding fast-starting performance. The robot is hyper-inflated with water,
and then rapidly deflates to expel the fluid so as to power the escape
maneuver. Using this robot we verify for the first time in laboratory testing
that rapid size-change can substantially reduce separation in bluff bodies
traveling several body lengths, and recover fluid energy which can be employed
to improve the propulsive performance. The robot is found to experience speeds
over ten body lengths per second, exceeding that of a similarly propelled
optimally streamlined rigid rocket. The peak net thrust force on the robot is
more than 2.6 times that on an optimal rigid body performing the same maneuver,
experimentally demonstrating large energy recovery and enabling acceleration
greater than 14 body lengths per second squared. Finally, over 53% of the
available energy is converted into payload kinetic energy, a performance that
exceeds the estimated energy conversion efficiency of fast-starting fish. The
Reynolds number based on final speed and robot length is .
We use the experimental data to establish a fundamental deflation scaling
parameter which characterizes the mechanisms of flow control via
shape change. Based on this scaling parameter, we find that the fast-starting
performance improves with increasing size.Comment: Submitted July 10th to Bioinspiration & Biomimetic
Dynamics and Stability of Low-Reynolds-Number Swimming Near a Wall
The locomotion of microorganisms and tiny artificial swimmers is governed by low-Reynolds-number
hydrodynamics, where viscous effects dominate and inertial effects are negligible. While the theory
of low-Reynolds-number locomotion is well studied for unbounded fluid domains, the presence of a
boundary has a significant influence on the swimmer’s trajectories and poses problems of dynamic
stability of its motion. In this paper we consider a simple theoretical model of a microswimmer near
a wall, study its dynamics, and analyze the stability of its motion. We highlight the underlying
geometric structure of the dynamics, and establish a relation between the reversing symmetry of
the system and existence and stability of periodic and steady solutions of motion near the wall.
The results are demonstrated by numerical simulations and validated by motion experiments with
macroscale robotic swimmer prototypes
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