Ravi Ramamurti

Julian Lee, Kamal Viswanath, Alisha Sharma et al.

Flapping-fin underwater vehicle propulsion systems provide an alternative to propeller-driven systems in situations that require involve a constrained environment or require high maneuverability. Testing new configurations through experiments or high-fidelity simulations is an expensive process, slowing development of new systems. This is especially true when introducing new fin geometries. In this work, we propose machine learning approaches for thrust prediction given the system's fin geometries and kinematics. We introduce data-efficient fin shape parameterization strategies that enable our network to predict thrust profiles for unseen fin geometries given limited fin shapes in input data. In addition to faster development of systems, generalizable surrogate models offer fast, accurate predictions that could be used on an unmanned underwater vehicle control system.

Kamal Viswanath, Alisha Sharma, Saketh Gabbita et al.

The aim of this study is to develop surrogate models for quick, accurate prediction of thrust forces generated through flapping fin propulsion for given operating conditions and fin geometries. Different network architectures and configurations are explored to model the training data separately for the lead fin and rear fin of a tandem fin setup. We progressively improve the data representation of the input parameter space for model predictions. The models are tested on three unseen fin geometries and the predictions validated with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) data. Finally, the orders of magnitude gains in computational performance of these surrogate models, compared to experimental and CFD runs, vs their tradeoff with accuracy is discussed within the context of this tandem fin configuration.