Aerodynamics of Flapping Fin Inspired from Manta Ray

We developed a scaled-down model of a Manta ray in order to obtain a greater understanding of the flow dynamics that govern this large animal’s movement so that we could implement it in underwater robots. Flexible foil-based flapping wings mimicking the Manta ray are fabricated using Mylar sheets. This research focuses mostly on modelling the sheet’s kinematics, which is determined by trial and error by altering the thickness of the sheet. We compare the qualitative motion of actual Manta rays in order to validate our result. Additionally, PIV was utilised to explore the prominent flow structures present in the flow of flexible foil. Presence of a strong tip vortex has been observed similar to the fish generated pair of moveable vortices that propel them forward (Guo et al. in Hydrodynamic analysis of propulsion process of zebrafish. Phys Fluids 34(2):021910, [10]).