屈曲形水中推進機構の研究 : 第4報,3関節モデルの三次元離散渦法による解析

In the preceding papers, we proposed an analytical method based on the two-dimensional discrete vortex method for a bending propulsion mechanism in water, such as fish or cetaceans, and investigated the characteristics of energy consumption and propulsive efficiency. In this paper, we extend the proposed method to three-dimensional flow based on the three-dimensional discrete vortex method in order to improve the precision of analysis. It is found that analytical values of the propulsive speed obtained from three-dimensional analysis show better agreement with the experimental values than those obtained from two-dimensional analysis. It is also found that the difference between values obtained using three-dimensional analysis and those obtained using two-dimensional analysis is not as great for propulsive efficiency as for propulsive speed.