ABSTRACT
From insects to arachnids to bacteria, the surfaces of lakes and ponds are teaming with life. Many modes of locomotion are employed by these organisms to navigate along the air-water interface, including the use of lipid-laden excretions that can locally change the surface tension of the water and induce a Marangoni flow. In this paper, we improved the speed and maneuverability of a miniature remote-controlled robot that mimics insect locomotion using an onboard tank of isopropyl alcohol and a series of servomotors to control both the rate and location of alcohol release to both propel and steer the robot across the water. Here, we studied the effect of a series of design changes to the foam rubber footpads, which float the robot and are integral in efficiently converting the alcohol-induced surface tension gradients into propulsive forces and effective maneuvering. Two designs were studied: a two-footpad design and a single-footpad design. In the case of two footpads, the gap between the two footpads was varied to investigate its impact on straight-line speed, propulsion efficiency, and maneuverability. An optimal design was found with a small but finite gap between the two pads of 7.5 mm. In the second design, a single footpad without a central gap was studied. This footpad had a rectangular cut-out in the rear to capture the alcohol. Footpads with wider and shallower cut-outs were found to optimize efficiency. This observation was reinforced by the predictions of a simple theoretical mechanical model. Overall, the optimized single-footpad robot outperformed the two-footpad robot, producing a 30% improvement in speed and a 400% improvement in maneuverability.
ABSTRACT
Inspired by creatures that have naturally mastered locomotion on the air-water interface, we developed and built a self-powered, remotely controlled surfing robot capable of traversing this boundary by harnessing surface tension modification for both propulsion and steering through a controlled release of isopropyl alcohol. In this process, we devised and implemented novel release valve and steering mechanisms culminating in a surfer with distinct capabilities. Our robot measures about 110 mm in length and can travel as fast as 0.8 body length per second. Interestingly, we found that the linear speed of the robot follows a 1/3 power law with the release rate of the propellant. Additional maneuverability tests also revealed that the robot is able to withstand 20 mm s-2in centripetal acceleration while turning. Here, we thoroughly discuss the design, development, performance, overall capabilities, and ultimate limitations of our robotic surfer.
Subject(s)
Robotics , Equipment Design , LocomotionABSTRACT
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
ABSTRACT
We theoretically examine the drying of a stationary liquid droplet on an inclined surface. Both analytical and numerical approaches are considered, while assuming that the evaporation results from the purely diffusive transport of liquid vapor and that the contact line is a pinned circle. For the purposes of the analytical calculations, we suppose that the effect of gravity relative to the surface tension is weak, i.e. the Bond number (Bo) is small. Then, we express the shape of the drop and the vapor concentration field as perturbation expansions in terms of Bo. When the Bond number is zero, the droplet is unperturbed by the effect of gravity and takes the form of a spherical cap, for which the vapor concentration field is already known. Here, the Young-Laplace equation is solved analytically to calculate the first-order correction to the shape of the drop. Knowing the first-order perturbation to the drop geometry and the zeroth-order distribution of vapor concentration, we obtain the leading-order contribution of gravity to the rate of droplet evaporation by utilizing Green's second identity. The analytical results are supplemented by numerical calculations, where the droplet shape is first determined by minimizing the Helmholtz free energy and then the evaporation rate is computed by solving Laplace's equation for the vapor concentration field via a finite-volume method. Perhaps counter-intuitively, we find that even when the droplet deforms noticeably under the influence of gravity, the rate of evaporation remains almost unchanged, as if no gravitational effect is present. Furthermore, comparison between analytical and numerical calculations reveals that considering only the leading-order corrections to the shape of the droplet and vapor concentration distribution provides estimates that are valid well beyond their intended limit of very small Bo.
