Development of a Propeller with Undulating Fins and Its Characteristics

This paper addresses some experiments about measurements of thrust and heave force generated by a modular designed biomimetic underwater propeller. The propeller has a ribbon fin that consists of twelve rays linked by a latex membrane. Different forms of waves can be generated by the propeller. A measurement platform is constructed to obtain the thrust and heave force generated by the waves along with the input power of the propeller. Three types of waves are performed on the platform, including sinusoidal waves, fusiform sinusoidal waves and inward counter-propagating sinusoidal waves. By changing the parameters of undulating waves, a total of three hundred series of experiments are implemented. The measurement results of three types of waves are analyzed and the differences among three types of waves are compared.