Hydrodynamic Analysis-Based Modeling and Experimental Verification of a New Water-Jet Thruster for an Amphibious Spherical Robot
Xihuan Hou,
Shuxiang Guo,
Liwei Shi,
Huiming Xing,
Yu Liu,
Huikang Liu,
Yao Hu,
Debin Xia,
Zan Li
Affiliations
Xihuan Hou
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Shuxiang Guo
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Liwei Shi
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Huiming Xing
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Yu Liu
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Huikang Liu
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Yao Hu
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Debin Xia
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Zan Li
Key Laboratory of Convergence Medical Engineering System and Healthcare Technology, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Thrusters are the bottom actuators of the amphibious spherical robot, and play an important role in the motion control of these robots. To realize accurate motion control, a thrust model for a new water-jet thruster based on hydrodynamic analyses is proposed in this paper. First, the hydrodynamic characteristics of the new thruster were numerically analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) commercial software CFX. The moving reference frame (MRF) technique was utilized to simulate propeller rotation. In particular, the hydrodynamics of the thruster were studied not only in the axial flow but also in oblique flow. Then, the basic framework of the thrust model was built according to hydromechanics theory. Parameters in the basic framework were identified through the results of the hydrodynamic simulation. Finally, a series of relevant experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of the thrust model. These proved that the thrust model-based simulation results agreed well with the experimental results. The maximum error between the experimental results and simulation results was only 7%, which indicates that the thrust model is precise enough to be utilized in the motion control of amphibious spherical robots.
