Alban Leroyer

Fast Dynamics of an Eel-Like Robot—Comparisons With Navier–Stokes Simulations

This paper proposes a dynamic model of the swim of elongated fish suited to the online control of biomimetic eel-like robots. The approach can be considered as an extension of the original reactive ldquolarge elongated body theoryrdquo of Lighthill to the 3-D self-propulsion to which a resistive empirical model has been added. While all the mathematical fundamentals have been detailed by Boyer . (http://www.irccyn.ec-nantes.fr/hebergement/Publications/2007/3721.pdf, 2007), this paper essentially focuses on the numerical validation and calibration of the model and the study of swimming gaits. The proposed model is coupled to an algorithm allowing us to compute the motion of the fish head and the field of internal control torque from the knowledge of the imposed internal strain fields. Based on the Newton-Euler formalism of robot dynamics, this algorithm works faster than real time. As far as precision is concerned, many tests obtained with several planar and 3-D gaits are reported and compared (in the planar case) with a Navier-Stokes solver, which, until today have been devoted to the planar swim. The comparisons obtained are very encouraging since in all the cases we tested, the differences between our simplified and reference simulations do not exceed 10%.

Poincaré–Cosserat Equations for the Lighthill Three-dimensional Large Amplitude Elongated Body Theory: Application to Robotics

In this article, we describe a dynamic model of the three-dimensional eel swimming. This model is analytical and suited to the online control of eel-like robots. The proposed solution is based on the Large Amplitude Elongated Body Theory of Lighthill and a framework recently presented in Boyer et al. (IEEE Trans. Robot. 22:763–775, 2006) for the dynamic modeling of hyper-redundant robots. This framework was named “macro-continuous” since, at this macroscopic scale, the robot (or the animal) is considered as a Cosserat beam internally (and continuously) actuated. This article introduces new results in two directions. Firstly, it extends the Lighthill theory to the case of a self-propelled body swimming in three dimensions, while including a model of the internal control torque. Secondly, this generalization of the Lighthill model is achieved due to a new set of equations, which are also derived in this article. These equations generalize the Poincaré equations of a Cosserat beam to an open system containing a fluid stratified around the slender beam.

Influence of free surface, unsteadiness and viscous effects on oar blade hydrodynamic loads

Abstract Flow around a rowing blade is a very complex phenomenon, involving unsteady three-dimensional flow with violent motion of the free surface. However, in the literature, forces acting on blades are modelled using extreme and dubious simplifications. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of free surface and unsteadiness (two physical characteristics that are commonly neglected when modelling loads on blades) as well as viscous effects. In fact, quasi-static approaches are often used, with no influence of the free surface effects. To conduct this study, computational fluid dynamics is used, supported by experimental results performed with a dedicated device reproducing a simplified rowing stroke in the towing tank. Comparisons show that both free surface flow and unsteadiness must be considered to capture the whole physics of the phenomenon accurately. In contrast, the viscous effects have a very limited influence.

Can adaptive grid refinement produce grid-independent solutions for incompressible flows?

Abstract This paper studies if adaptive grid refinement combined with finite-volume simulation of the incompressible RANS equations can be used to obtain grid-independent solutions of realistic flow problems. It is shown that grid adaptation based on metric tensors can generate series of meshes for grid convergence studies in a straightforward way. For a two-dimensional airfoil and the flow around a tanker ship, the grid convergence of the observed forces is sufficiently smooth for numerical uncertainty estimation. Grid refinement captures the details of the local flow in the wake, which is shown to be grid converged on reasonably-sized meshes. Thus, grid convergence studies using automatic refinement are suitable for high-Reynolds incompressible flows.

Creating Free-Surface Flow Grids with Automatic Grid Refinement

The objective of this work is to create grids for free-surface water flow simulation entirely with automatic grid refinement. It is shown why it is necessary to refine the mesh iteratively as the solution converges and why refinement and derefinement of hexahedral cells must be treated anisotropically.The proposed refinement criterion is a combination of the pressure Hessian with refinement at the free surface, in order to capture the flow which drives the surface motion and the position of the surface itself. Smoothing is needed in the computation of the Hessian in order to remove oscillations in the pressure, the pressure Hessian is extrapolated through the free surface to remove its discontinuity there.Two test cases confirm that effective fine meshes for wave computation can be created with the proposed automatic refinement procedure.

Sliding Grids and Adaptive Grid Refinement for RANS Simulation of Ship-Propeller Interaction

Abstract The paper describes a computational approach for a numerical propulsion test. Key techniques concern the computation of free-surface viscous flows around propellers using the sliding grid technique and accurate wave capturing around the hull. An advanced numerical technique resolves very small-scale flow motion such as tip vortex. Efficiency and accuracy are balanced using an adaptive mesh refinement technique. This approach is validated against the KCS test case proposed for the Tokyo 2005 and Gothenburg 2010 CFD validation workshops.

Wake Prediction of a Marine Propeller: The Role of the Turbulence Closures

The marine propeller is the principal ship component to provide the necessary propulsion and when working at the aft of a ship, the propeller operates in a heterogeneous field because of the wake, created by the hull, which can have an effect on performance since the interaction is directly related to vibrations, noise and propulsion performances. So, the physical mechanisms that characterize the interactions between the propeller and the hull is very complex.

Anisotropic mesh refinement in ship flow simulation with free surface

For the simulation of water flow with waves, grid refinement must be anisotropic to limit the total grid size. For these flows, the grid has to be refined at the water surface, to resolve the conservation law which indicates the surface position, and below the surface to resolve the water flow. A combined criterion is presented, based on the free-surface position and on the Hessian of the pressure. It is shown that this criterion creates suitable grids for two- and three-dimensional flows.

CFD Analysis of a LNGC Carrier in Waves

Single Buoy Moorings (SBM) Offshore is a pioneer in the offshore and gas industry. Its product line is the supply of facilities and services for the development and production of offshore oil and gas fields as well as the systems relevant to the mooring technology at large. SBM is currently developing various concepts aimed at offloading LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) carriers offshore. These concepts whether they assume tandem or side-by-side offloading have in common a building block: the LNG carrier. Owing to its unusual shape (shallow draft, non wall sided hull at the waterline with a flared bow and a transom stern and the presence of a bulb just below the sea surface) at least compared to standard VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carrier), difficulties arise when performing diffraction calculations and when comparing model test results in monochromatic, bi-chromatic and irregular waves with numerical time domain simulations. The main objective is to identify whether differences between model tests and standard numerical predictions based on linear potential theory can be bridged in increasingly complex wave fields by resorting to CFD simulations.The CFD software used is ISIS-CFD, developed by the Numerical Modelling Group of the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory of Ecole Centrale de Nantes and distributed as commercial software by NUMECA International under the name FINE/Marine.CFD simulations have been performed in monochromatic head wave condition with and without the 4-line mooring system to prevent the LNG carrier from drifting away. The CFD method is described and a comparison between model tests and simulations is presented. CFD shows that it is able to predict the motions measured in model tests. In addition, both the wave frequency and the natural frequency of the mass spring system are correctly linked with the frequencies of the predicted motions.Copyright