Design of Modular Underwater Vehicle Biomimetic Hull Towards Onboard Lab-On-a-Chip Devices

Abstract

—The conditions for the operation of Point-of-Care sensors on water bodies are complicated to meet. The limited energy resources and footprint onboard are additional limitations of remote sensing devices. To provide a platform to perform a sufficient number of samples, the customization of Underwater Vehicles involves an integral optimization of space distribution, operation of the sensing mechanisms, and navigation. In this paper, we showcase the design and manufacturing of an Underwater Vehicle towards integration of a microfluidic device platform with a biomimetic approach. To develop this design Fusion 360 was used to sketch the internal components, including the fluid handling unit of the Lab-On-a-Chip biosensor and the reagent reservoirs, hull, and the submarine propulsion system (propeller and dorsal and pectoral fins). Furthermore, we have compared the numerical performance of three different pectoral fins for a shark, devil fish, and a drag reduction evaluating the lift and drag forces using COMSOL Multiphysics for different angles of attacks, demonstrating that a design with more cross-sectional area has 5 times greater drag and up to 3 times greater lift than a balanced and slim design. the final design will depend on the maneuverability requirements of the vehicle. The modularized design was manufactured and integrated successfully using Fusion Deposition Modelling and Stereolithography.