Simulation Study for Propulsion Mechanism Imitating Bending Motion of Organisms in Water : Flagellar Motion

Abstract

Organisms are quite functional and the application of dynamics in organisms to the field of engineering is very instructive. To create an artificial propulsion mechanism that functions by bending waves, a simulation study of a propulsion mechanism which imitated the bending motion of organisms in water was carried out. As the bending wave motion, flagellar motion, which depends on Stokes law, was employed. In the simulation, the bending wave of the organism was changed into a construction of the multilink mechanism. This simulation model is defined as the "multilink model". In addition, the simulation model based on the approximate theory of the organism's propulsion is defined as the "approximate organism model". The thrust force ratio and the swimming speed ratio of the multilink model to the approximate organism model were calculated. The relationships between the two ratios and both the number of links and the ratio wavelength/amplitude were clarified.