Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Degree Name

MS in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Mechanical Engineering

Major Professor

David Murphy, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kyle Reed, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Wenbin Mao, Ph.D.

Keywords

Biomimicry, Low Reynolds Number Flight, Pneumatic Soft Actuator, Pteropod, Soft Robotic Modeling

Abstract

Evolution over billions of years has led to unique animals of all types. The tiny sea butterfly is one that remains mostly anonymous because of its size and low place on the food chain, but it is a swimming creature that when examined closely reveals a surprise. Shockingly, it has a swimming motion nearly identical to small insects flying at intermediate Reynolds numbers, referred to as the clap-and-fling. The centimeter long pteropod flapping briskly at 5Hz escapes attention with its size and speed. Modeling the clap-and-fling motion of the sea butterfly at a larger scale allows the benefits and uniqueness of this mode of locomotion to be studied.

Soft robotics is a developing field that has been used in many creative applications. Soft robots can deform significantly and are conceptually simpler than rigid robotics. While developing soft actuators, scientists found that some of the movement patterns have similarities to biology. Using soft robotics to create large scale models of different animals allows for their locomotion to be studied in greater detail in a controlled environment.

A dynamically scaled model of the Cuvierina atlantica was developed by adapting standard soft robotics methods. Soft robotic wings were able to replicate the flexible motion of the pteropod in the same intermediate Reynolds number range. Two overlapping wings allowed the swimming motion and wing interaction to be explored in greater detail. The development and validation of the robot’s swimming kinematics has led to a benchtop system perfect for future studies. Future analysis could be responsible for a new propulsion technique, or at least uncloak the natural design that allows this small creature to swim so efficiently.

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