Study of a miniature underwater robot based on piezoelectric vector jet propulsion

IF 4.9 3区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

Sensors and Actuators A-physical Pub Date : 2025-09-19 DOI:10.1016/j.sna.2025.117078

Qiwei Liang, Kai Li, Shuo Chen

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The maneuverability of existing jet-driven underwater robot moving in underwater narrow space is limited by the unidirectional driving force generated by their jet propulsion actuators. In this article, we propose a jet-coupled vector propulsion module (JVPM), which utilizes multi-jet coupling to achieve multi-angle thrust output within a plane. Through numerical simulation, the flow field characteristics and velocity distribution were analyzed, the formation mechanism of multi-direction driving force was described, and the coupling angle was optimized, and the simulation result also showed that under the voltage difference of 50 V_p-p, the coupled jet of the JVPM can deflect by 19.2° in the plane. Subsequently, by conducting particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiment and output performance test experiment, the formation of multi-directional coupled jet was verified, and the signal waveform of the JVPM was optimized. Finally, a 3DOF miniature underwater vector jet-driven robot (UVDR) with dimensions of 90 mm × 82 mm × 73 mm was designed, prototyped, and experimentally evaluated. The experiment results demonstrated that, the UVDR achieved a maximum horizontal linear velocity of 76.4 mm/s (0.93 BL/s), a maximum turning velocity of 0.86 rad/s with a minimum turning radius of 86 mm in the horizontal plane, and a maximum floating velocity of 46.8 mm/s (0.52 BL/s) in the vertical plane, conforming its exceptional maneuverability.

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基于压电矢量射流推进的微型水下机器人研究

现有的射流驱动水下机器人在狭窄的水下空间中运动时，受到射流推进作动器产生的单向驱动力的限制。在本文中，我们提出了一种喷气耦合矢量推进模块（JVPM），它利用多射流耦合在一个平面内实现多角度推力输出。通过数值模拟，分析了流场特性和速度分布，描述了多向驱动力的形成机理，并对耦合角进行了优化，仿真结果还表明，在50 Vp-p的电压差下，JVPM的耦合射流可在平面内偏转19.2°。随后，通过粒子图像测速（PIV）实验和输出性能测试实验，验证了多向耦合射流的形成，并优化了JVPM的信号波形。最后，设计了一个尺寸为90 mm × 82 mm × 73 mm的三维微型水下矢量射流机器人（UVDR），并进行了原型设计和实验评估。实验结果表明，UVDR在水平面上的最大水平线速度为76.4 mm/s (0.93 BL/s)，在水平面上的最大转弯速度为0.86 rad/s，最小转弯半径为86 mm，在垂直平面上的最大漂浮速度为46.8 mm/s (0.52 BL/s)，具有良好的机动性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Sensors and Actuators A-physical 工程技术-工程：电子与电气

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

6.50%

发文量

630

审稿时长

49 days

期刊介绍： Sensors and Actuators A: Physical brings together multidisciplinary interests in one journal entirely devoted to disseminating information on all aspects of research and development of solid-state devices for transducing physical signals. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical regularly publishes original papers, letters to the Editors and from time to time invited review articles within the following device areas: • Fundamentals and Physics, such as: classification of effects, physical effects, measurement theory, modelling of sensors, measurement standards, measurement errors, units and constants, time and frequency measurement. Modeling papers should bring new modeling techniques to the field and be supported by experimental results. • Materials and their Processing, such as: piezoelectric materials, polymers, metal oxides, III-V and II-VI semiconductors, thick and thin films, optical glass fibres, amorphous, polycrystalline and monocrystalline silicon. • Optoelectronic sensors, such as: photovoltaic diodes, photoconductors, photodiodes, phototransistors, positron-sensitive photodetectors, optoisolators, photodiode arrays, charge-coupled devices, light-emitting diodes, injection lasers and liquid-crystal displays. • Mechanical sensors, such as: metallic, thin-film and semiconductor strain gauges, diffused silicon pressure sensors, silicon accelerometers, solid-state displacement transducers, piezo junction devices, piezoelectric field-effect transducers (PiFETs), tunnel-diode strain sensors, surface acoustic wave devices, silicon micromechanical switches, solid-state flow meters and electronic flow controllers. Etc...