A Prototype Of A Biomimetic Scallop Robot With Bivalve Propulsion And A Hydrodynamic Model For Its Velocity
Journal
Journal of Applied Science and Engineering
Journal Volume
28
Journal Issue
8
Start Page
1837
End Page
1848
Date Issued
2025-01-01
Author(s)
DOI
10.6180/jase.202508_28(8).0020
Abstract
This work presents the development, test, and analysis of a scallop robot prototype that generates jet propulsion with cyclic bivalve clapping motion. Through observing the real scallop swimming and understanding of its organ function, the robot was made of a streamlined fiberglass lower shell and a flat Plexiglas upper disk driven to clap periodically by a built-in RC motor and crank-slider four-bar linkage. Two jet holes were created at the rear side of the lower shell and a water guide towards the jet holes were created by silica gel to mimic the cavity between the mantle and adductor muscle of a real scallop. The robot performance was evaluated by its forward velocity U(t) and systematic experiments were conducted to study how the cycle-averaged velocity varies with the clapping frequency and amplitude. A complementing hydrodynamic model is also developed for the scallop motion. A general trend that U increased with the clapping frequency was observed from both the experimental data and the model prediction but more complex correlation with the clapping amplitude was revealed. As a result, the bivalve propulsion implemented in the current scallop robot is feasible but requires weight reduction and improvement on flow manipulation.
Subjects
Biomimetic Scallop Robot
Bivalve Propulsion
Hydrodynamic Model
Type
journal article