Simulation for the propulsion of a micro-hydro robot with an unstructured grid

The flow mechanism of contractive and dilative motion was numerically investigated to obtain a propulsive force in a highly viscous fluid. The computing program for the analysis of complicated motions was numerically developed with a cell-centered, unstructured grid scheme. The developed program was validated by the well-known equation of an oscillating plane below viscous fluid for an unsteady problem, which is known as Stokes' second problem. Validation has continued through comparison with the experimental results. In this case, sinusoidal motion was applied to the validation, instead of trochoidal motion, because it was very difficult to actually simulate trochoidal motion in this experiment. Finally, the validation and comparison with the nodal-point scheme was accomplished by Stokes' problem, which is the famous problem at a low Reynolds number. The validated code was applied to contractive and dilative motion in a narrow tube, whose motion was embodied by trochoidal movement. In a highly viscous fluid, such as a very sticky honey or a swamp, the computed results show that a viscous force can be used for propulsion instead of a dynamic force. From the present results, it was found that a propulsive force can be obtained by contractive and dilative motion at a low Reynolds number, which can be applied to the propulsion of micro-robots in a highly viscous fluid such as a blood vessel or a swamp. This research could also be considered fundamental research for the propulsion of micro-hydro, robots, which are expected to be actively studied in the future in accord with further development of nanotechnology. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.