The last few decades have led to the rise of research focused on propulsion and control systems for bio-inspired unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), which provide more maneuverable alternatives to traditional UUVs in underwater missions. Propulsive efficiency is of utmost importance for flapping-fin UUVs in order to extend their range and endurance for essential operations. To optimize for different gait performance metrics, we develop a non-dimensional figure of merit (FOM), derived from measures of propulsive efficiency, that is able to evaluate different fin designs and kinematics, and allow for comparison with other bio-inspired platforms. We create and train computational models using experimental data, and use these models to predict thrust and power under different fin operating states, providing efficiency profiles. We then use the developed FOM to analyze optimal gaits and compare the performance between different fin materials. These comparisons provide a better understanding of how fin materials affect our thrust generation and propulsive efficiency, allowing us to inform control systems and weight for efficiency on an inverse gait-selector model.

翻译：过去几十年，受生物启发的水下无人航行器（UUVs）推进与控制系统的研究日益兴起，这类系统为传统UUV执行水下任务提供了更具机动性的替代方案。对于扑翼式UUV而言，推进效率对其扩展航程和续航能力以完成关键作业至关重要。为优化不同步态性能指标，我们提出一种无量纲品质因数（FOM），该指标源于推进效率度量，能够评估不同鳍翼设计与运动学特性，并支持与其他仿生平台的比较。我们利用实验数据创建并训练计算模型，以预测不同鳍翼工作状态下的推力和功率，生成效率分布图。进而采用所提出的FOM分析最优步态，并对比不同鳍翼材料的性能差异。这些比较深化了对鳍翼材料影响推力生成与推进效率机理的理解，从而为控制系统设计提供依据，并在逆步态选择模型中赋予效率更高的权重。