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4 April 2007 How fish swim: flexible fin thrusters as an EAP platform
George V. Lauder
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Proceedings Volume 6524, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2007; 652402 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.714512
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2007, San Diego, California, United States
Abstract
Fish are capable of remarkable locomotor performance and use their fins extensively for both propulsion and maneuvering. Recent interest in using fishes as inspiration for the design of a new generation of autonomous underwater vehicles has prompted both new experimental studies of fish locomotor function and efforts to use electroactive polymers (EAP) as actuators in fish-inspired propulsive devices. The fins of fishes allow precise control over body position and vectoring of thrust during propulsion and maneuvering. Recent experimental studies of fish locomotion have revealed that fins exhibit much greater flexibility than previously suspected and that there is considerable deformation of the fin surface during locomotion. The fins of the large group known as ray-finned fishes are supported by fin rays, which have a bilaminar structure that allows active curvature control of the ray and fin surface by the fin musculature. Fish have up to seven different fins, and these fins may interact with each other hydrodynamically during locomotion. Fish fins provide an excellent test platform for the use of electroactive polymer actuators as the frequency of movement is typically less than 5 Hz, and fin muscle strains typically range from 2 to 10%. Recent developments of biorobotic fish pectoral fins actuated with EAP are reviewed.
© (2007) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
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George V. Lauder "How fish swim: flexible fin thrusters as an EAP platform", Proc. SPIE 6524, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2007, 652402 (4 April 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.714512
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KEYWORDS
Electroactive polymers
Actuators
Polymers
Kinematics
Particles
Robotics
Copper
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