Untitled

Abstract

The design of propulsion system is a very critical task because it determines the performance of underwater robots, such as maneuverability and endurance and so on. Generally, it is a challenge to develop a propulsion system which can make tradeoff among multiple degree-of-freedom (DOF) motions, simple and compact structure and low power consumption. Thus, we are motivated to propose a collaborative propulsion system for the underwater robot and its unique reconfigurable structure makes vectorial propulsion possible. The novel collaborative propulsion system consists of a Coanda effect based primary system and a magnetic coupling based auxiliary system. Based on Coanda effect, the primary system can provide sufficient thrust in four directions by only one water-jet. Meanwhile, as the assistance of the primary thruster, the auxiliary system can realize omnidirectional thrust to balance the robot whole body and meet the high requirement of maneuverability. In this paper, we present the mechanical structure of the propulsion system in detail and explain specific design of the fluidic valve by theoretical analysis. To evaluate the performance, simulations about jet attachment effect and magnetic coupling characteristic have been conducted at last so as to lay a solid foundation for the feasibility of such novel propulsion system.